Snakeskin
by Ringwil
Summary: Sometimes you can't remain the prey. Orochimaru succeeded in becoming Hokage and revolutionized the Academy. Konoha comes for Sakura one day, armed with doctrine and regulations. Thrust in a world where blood and power rule, she will need to adapt and swallow her hate, if she wants to stay alive. One way or another, Sakura will claw her way up to freedom. AU!
1. Chapter 1

**Snakeskin**

Sometimes you can't remain the prey. Orochimaru succeeded in becoming Hokage and revolutionized the Academy. Konoha comes for Sakura one day, armed with doctrine and regulations. Thrust in a world where blood and power rule, she will need to adapt and swallow her hate, if she wants to stay alive. One way or another, Sakura will claw her way up to freedom. AU!

-0

[Snakeskin]

-0

Sakura could feel her pulse.

Her heart had been racing for a while now, fluttering like a hummingbird against her jugular. The blouse Mommy had so carefully picked out felt constricting, but she didn't dare move to loosen it; just a nimble twist of her fingers, the button slipping through the stiff hole, nails digging into cotton.

Two hours ago, Sakura was tracing the intricate designs in the wood of the kitchen table with a butterknife. She dragged the teeth over a scorch mark. Mommy had put out her homework, with little boxes to mark. All her pens, from navy blue to bright pink, spread out on the table. A plate a little to her left side – a still steaming boiled egg on top of it.

Two hours ago, Sakura was happy. "_I didn't know they would take you today,_" Mommy had said. She couldn't dwell on those worlds for too long, though they kept resounding through her head. Not quite like a mantra, but close. Those words meant intent. Mean calculation. Mommy knew.

The stranger was still working on her hair. The snap of scissor was loud by her ear, but by now she had become used to it. Numb, even as her own bubblegum hair floated down her shoulders and landed in her lap. Mommy used to say it was the prettiest pink in the world.

When the stranger had first taken out the scissors, a plea rolled over Sakura's lips before she could stop herself. "Please, no. I'll do a-anything-". The stranger's hand moved, too quick to track. Sakura's head snapped to one side, her cheek aflame with pain. The strangled cry that left her throat sounded feral. Pathetic.

"Silence," the stranger said. Their eyes watched impartially, even as tears welled up in Sakura's eyes and snot began to drip down her nose. "Sit down."

Mommy thought Sakura smart. Clever, unlike her classmates who could not finish mathematical questions in just a few minutes. Or read twelve books in one week. So Sakura looked at the stranger's apathetic eyes, and the lack of sympathy swimming in the depths and sat on the stool.

_I didn't know they would take you today_. No, not now. Maybe not ever. Sakura pushed those thoughts away and looked around the room. The walls were white, bare, with no windows. The only source of light was a lamp on the ceiling, humming with electricity. There was no furniture either, except the wooden stool Sakura was sitting on.

"Done," the stranger said and stepped away.

Sakura fingered the short strands of hair on her head. They didn't even reach her chin. She sensed movement out of the corner of her eyes; the stranger was moving towards the only door in the chamber: a metal structure with five locks. Sakura had counted them twice already.

"Wait!" The cry was born more of desperation than of any real courage, and Sakura could feel herself hunching, as the stranger peered over their shoulder.

"When can I go home?" Her voice shook so hard her teeth clattered.

"You're home already."

"I would like to see my mother," Sakura begged. She rose from the stool. "Plea-"

"There is nothing to return to." The stranger's cold gaze roamed over her, lingered on her face. A gloved hand beckoned her. "Come."

Sakura's heart leaped into her throat and pounded as if it wanted to create bruises on her skin. Slowly, she slipped off the stool. Her hands trembled by her sides.

The stranger led her into a long and dark tunnel. The occasional torch shed enough light to penetrate the pitch black darkness with a warm, orange glow. The stranger walked like a ghost, feet light on the concrete. Even the swish of their long sleeves was silent.

The stranger halted by a door and ushered her inside. The door fell shut behind her.

The room was long and narrow, with light from a single exposed bulb that dangled from the low ceiling. A woman was seated behind a desk, barely visible behind a stack of parchments, pamphlets, and books.

"Oh," she said, in a high, singsongy voice, when the door clattered shut. "Don't idle so."

Sakura took place in the chair and wrung her hands together in her lap. The woman shoved the stacks of papers and books aside in one fluent movement. The golden bracelets around her wrists clattered.

"My name is Nagisa," she said pleasantly. "You'll address me with the proper respect."

From this close, Sakura could see the faint freckles on her arms. There was a ruthlessness about her, the way she smiled, both the top and bottom shown, too much white of her eyes visible.

"Welcome to the Academy of Ninja Arts," Nagisa said, with a winning smile. Her eyes were not green like Sakura had initially thought; when she lifted her head, they glittered up hazel.

"What." Sakura couldn't quite hide the tremble in her hands. She pushed them under her legs, but even her weight didn't stop their shaking. She peered over her shoulder at the door, for the stranger, for anyone, for Mommy to burst through, but it was shut tightly, letting only a thin strip of light in from underneath.

"That can't be right," she said pleadingly. "This is a mistake."

"Not to worry," Nagisa said. A hand sidled over to rest on her wrist, the palm clammy and warm. "You are not being singled out. Many reacted the same way they came here. It is like that with most civilian children."

She said 'civilian' with a curl of her lips, spitting it out in the world as if the word brought a wrong taste to her mouth. As if it was something to be disdained. Something to be ashamed of.

"I-I w-want." Sakura's throat closed up, and she had to pinch her skin to ground herself. "I would like to go home now."

"That is impossible," Nagisa said. She had a good smile, open and willing, as if that was her first reaction to everything, but it stretched too widely. "This is your home now. You'll learn to love it."

Sakura scrubbed at her eyes with the heel of her hand.

"Cease your sniffling," the woman said. "It won't change a thing. You will not go back to that mundane way of life."

"But why?" Sakura cried, and she brought her hand down on the table surface with a thwack. Nagisa leaned back in her chair, unfazed by her outburst, and arched a slender brow. "You kidnapped me!"

"You will be an asset to the shinobi forces," Nagisa said calmly, as if they are discussing the weather over afternoon tea. "If not... well, we have no uses for blunt tools, do we?"

Sakura stared at her. She wanted to scream and rage, throw a tantrum the likes she has never seen or done before. Topple the table. Drive that gleaming needle in Nagisa's hair right through her skull. But she didn't try any of that. Instead, she sunk deeper into her chair and stared unblinkingly into the woman's cold eyes.

_I didn't know they would take you today._

"Now that you've calmed down," Nagisa continued, voice laced with exasperation, "Ami here will bring you to your room." She punctuated her words with a nod to the door.

Sakura whipped her head around. A girl was standing behind her, clad in a uniform; a deep green vest, donned over a black top with fishnet sleeves that ended at the elbow. A bright red P was embroidered on the breastpocket.

"Ami here is a prefect," Nagisa explained. She leaned forward, a glint in her eye. The smile on her face was probably meant to be kind, but Sakura could only see the pulling of the muscles around her lips, the showing of too much teeth.

"She will be in your classes, as they are separated by age. She is a fine student. I believe she will be moving to the other dorm soon enough."

"Pleased to meet you." The girl dropped into a bow. When she straightened again, her gaze roamed over Sakura's body, and lingered on her pink locks. She waited patiently until Sakura rose from her chair.

She led them into the hallway and took a sharp turn to the right. Sakura put her chin on her chest, and followed her. There were paintings on the walls, bright splashes of color, and artwork in glass cabinets. A kunai made out of matches, a knitted headband. A sculpted Yondaime, complete with long hair, stared at her in one corner.

Ami turned to the left, into a broader hallway, with wide windows. The outside was dark, and she could only spot the reflection of the lights and their own moving bodies in the glass. She studied her newly cropped hair; it fell neatly into place just above her shoulders and framed her face in a way she wasn't sure she approved of. The long locks Mommy had so adored were gone.

"You'll get used to that," Ami said. She had halted as well, and the expression on her was unreadable. In the moonlight, and the dim orange glow from the lamps, she looked like a waif, with a pale face and a flat nose.

Why did they do it?" Sakura questioned, fingering one strand. "Why does it matter what length our hair is?"

"It is to promote team building. In here, we are all the same, all equal. We are here to become Konoha's strength. In a way, this is how we leave our pasts behind, and step into a future full of promises." Ami spoke almost without inflection, as if she was reading from a script that only she could see.

"All equal, huh?" Sakura said and narrowed her eyes. Her gaze lingered on the P on Ami's clothes, and she thought back to the woman's words: "There are no uses for blunt, useless tools." "Is that the full truth or the fairy tale lie they like to spin?"

Ami's breath stuttered for a second, but when she lifted her head, her face was set into an almost bored expression. Her eyes were bright. "Some things are not meant for ears. You are new, but you must learn."

Sakura wanted to ask dozen of questions, about why she was brought here, what were they doing here, but the look on Ami's face dissuaded her. The girl beckoned her and they resumed their pace.

While they walked, Sakura studied the motivational quotes above the doors, embroidered on a string of red fabric. They passed a _Hard Work is the Key_, and _Order above all_.

"This is it," Ami announced. She came to a halt, and regarded her silently, while Sakura took stock of the gleaming metal doorknob, the wooden door, and the letters that spelled _The only confinement is yourself_ above it. "You share the room with me and one other, but you will meet her first thing in the morning. Lights out after ten, and you must be in the canteen at eight, or you'll get no servings. Am I clear?"

Sakura swallowed. She tugged on the stiff fabric of her shirt. "Crystal."

Ami opened the door and stepped in. The beam of light of the hallway rolled over two bunk beds, a large, wooden desk, and a bookcase tucked between that and the wall.

"You can take the lowest bed," Ami said, as she climbed onto her own. Sakura nodded, and went to it, and coiled the blankets around her. She kicked off her shoes, which clattered onto the wooden planking.

She closed her eyes and clenched her teeth. Her mind was reeling. She did her best not to think about Mother, or home, or her school. She tightened her arms around her torso, a parody of a hug.

_I didn't know they would take you today._

Sleep wouldn't come for a long time.

-0

[Snakeskin]

-0

Sakura awoke with a headache. She wiped away the crust between her eyelids, scrubbed her clammy cheeks with the heel of her hands, and stared up at the mattress above her. Gone were her star-shaped stickers, which glowed in the night. Gone was her intricate ceiling rose.

She propped herself up on an elbow and cast a glance around the room. It was empty, blankets thrown haphazardly over the railing of the beds, except for a girl by the desk.

"So you're the new one." The girl's hair was a dark red, cut to the same length as her own, but it stuck up like a crest at the back of her head, in spikes.

"Is it eight yet?" Sakura asked.

The girl laughed. "Miss Perfection has poisoned you already, I see. Don't worry – we can eat till ten. That's when the lessons begin. Most of the grilled fish will be already gone, though."

Sakura rose to her feet, and picked up the neatly folded clothes from the desk. She dressed quickly, trying not to feel self-conscious, as she shed her dress, but the girl turned around and stared off at the window.

"I'm Fuki," she told Sakura, as they stepped out into the hallway. She lifted a hand as other children spilled out into the hallways, in twos and threes. Her fingers were chapped, her knuckles red and bruised. "I'm great at shuriken throwing, and you definitely don't want to cross me with a bo. If you ever need help during kenjutsu practice, just let me know."

Sakura swallowed. Half of the words that came out of Fuki's mouth were unfamiliar to her.

They followed the flock through the hallways. She tried to imprint the route in her mind, counted the numbers of doors they came across, what turns they took, but there was too much to look at. From every door came more children, each clad in the same clothing. Most of them were younger than her.

"What kind of lessons do you get here?" Sakura wanted to know.

"Physical, mostly," Fuki said. "We have katas we have to study for each lesson. Sometimes we get quest tutors." At Sakura's questioning look, she elaborated, "Sometimes some jounin or chuunin."

They stepped inside the canteen. Sakura ducked her head down, and kept her gaze on her feet, as she followed Fuki to a table. The din of the crowd was static in her ears. It bounced up against her eardrums, and pressed, and pressed.

"We get lessons once a week in kenjutsu," the girl continued. She pulled two plates from the stack and flicked her gaze back to Sakura. "There's chakra control, jutsu-training, flower arrangement, coding and ciphers, stealth-training, sabotage, and intelligence..."

She trailed off into silence at Sakura's wide-eyed look. "No worries," she said, as she pushed a plate full of pickled vegetables, and steamed rice towards her. "You'll learn soon enough."

After breakfast, Fuki took her out into the courtyard. Two freckled boys ran past them, their breaths steaming in the air. Shallow rays of sunlight filtered through the clouds and edged up Fuki's face. She had a jagged scar by her ear – a pink glossy pucker.

"We're going to spar," the girl told her, a smile tugged into her cheek.

"Fight? An actual brawl?"

Fuki didn't respond, and only gave her a knowing smirk. The teacher emerged from the throng of bodies. Standing under the thick foliage of the poplars, stripes of light danced over his face.

"We got a new one, I see," he said, snagging a hand through his dark, curly hair, with a nod at Sakura. She could feel a flush creeping up her face, as several students turned to look as well. "I hope you have all been practicing your katas."

A chorus of "Yes, Sensei!" rippled through the class. He smiled briefly, creating two dimples in his cheeks.

"Fujimoto Ami, and Maki Yasuo. In formation."

Ami stepped forward. Her hair was streaked back from her face, her dark eyes alight with something Sakura couldn't quite place.

Her opponent was so small that he didn't even reach her shoulders. He had a head full of brown curls, and buckteeth that peeked out under his chapped lips. He rocked on the balls of his feet, his hands fluttering by his sides.

"Begin," Sensei barked.

Ami lurched forward, and brought her fist up to strike him in the stomach. Maki deflected her blow with one of his own, and jumped back to avoid her incoming kick.

Sakura felt cold beads sliding down her neck. Ami slammed her fist in the boy's side, and his grunt of pain echoed over the courtyard. He fell to the ground, and rolled to the left in one fluent motion, as Ami slammed the ground where his head would have been.

He kicked her in the stomach, but besides a yelp, it didn't seem to deter her. Ami grabbed his hair, and slammed his head against the ground. Once. Twice.

Sensei stepped forward, and hauled her off him. Ami's face was flushed, and soaked in sweat. She lifted her fist in the air, and grinned.

The crowd burst into applause. Sakura numbly lifted her own hands and began to clap, but she couldn't look at Ami or anywhere near her. Her gaze was fixed on the dark red spot on the ground, the scuffed up dirt and moss soaked in blood.

Two children stepped forward and helped Maki up. They slung his arms around their shoulders, and helped him limp into the direction of the infirmary. Sakura could only see his retreating back, with his head hunched down, pressed against his chest.

Fuki moved from her side. Clapped her roommate on the back with a wide smile.

"What did you think of that?" Ami asked her, but her eyes were on Sakura.

She swallowed. She had nothing to say in the face of such ruthless violence.

-0

[Snakeskin]

-0

After a few weeks, the days morphed into an endless, formless summer. Sakura awoke with wet cheeks, with crust between her lids, in a metal bed that groaned and squeaked with every movement. Ami was up far before the sun filtered through the blinds, gone into the labyrinth of hallways and classrooms, but it was Fuki who dressed with her, and sent her a tired grin in the morning.

"You should grow your hair out," Sakura said to her, around a mouthful of porridge. "It would look good on you."

"We're not allowed to have longer than your length," Fuki responded, brown eyes scanning her Genjutsu text.

Sakura had read it the night before; the letters of _Primal Instincts_ had kept her up until midnight, when Ami had thrown a blanket over her lamp to dim it, with an irritated jerk of her hands. Mommy had never talked about the ninja arts, about understanding fear, and exploiting it. Sakura had never known there was so much to learn.

"Besides," she continued, "long hair is only detrimental. It gets stuck, can be grabbed, can be used to torture-"

"Yeah, yeah," Sakura hastened to say. Her stomach felt like a nest of vipers had taken home there. Her porridge suddenly ceased to seem appetizing anymore. She shoved it away from her face, and leaned back in her chair to study the girl on the other side of her table.

Fuki was small, her eyes wide in their sockets. As she sat with her nose burrowed in her text, she looked the epitome of brittleness; yellowed bruises ran like bracelets over her arms. Sakura did her best not to look down at her own hand-shaped marks, inflicted by Ami during their taijutsu match.

"Tell me, Fuki," Sakura said. "Why did you join the Academy?"

"Because I wanted to."

"I don't believe that," Sakura said bluntly. She narrowed her eyes at Fuki, who was still bent over her text, fingers twitching along the edge of the paper. "Why would you willingly put yourself out there? We all know the risks and dangers of the battlefield. There are so many other professions you could have chosen."

Fuki straightened her back with a pop, and flicked her gaze at Sakura. Her eyes were cold and flat. A hand crept up to fumble with the fabric of her scarf.

"Fighting for the Village is an honor, Sakura," she said. Her voice was low – a mere rumble among the many others in the canteen. "We live and die for the Village, and that is the way it is and will be."

"That's idioti-"

"Shut the fuck up."

Sakura's jaw clattered shut. Fuki rolled up her scroll, stuffed it into her pouch, and rose to her feet. With an irritated tug on her scarf, she whirled around and marched away, towards the door. Sakura scrambled after her.

Fuki led her through a vacant hallway to the lavatory. Once they stepped inside, and the door fell shut with a dull thud behind them, a hand snatched Sakura by the collar and hoisted her up against the tiled wall.

"You're a fool," Fuki said, eyes glittering. "Talking like that in the middle of the canteen. Do you not have a brain behind that gigantic forehead?"

Sakura swallowed against the curl of saliva in her throat. With a strangled moan, she scratched at the hands holding up her by her neck, but Fuki's hand kept her in a vice-like grip.

"I get that you don't want to be here," the girl continued. Her face was set in a snarl. "This might not even be your own choice. But if you keep being that foolish little girl, then you're going to die."

"L-Let me go." Sakura managed to push the words past her numb lips, but they sounded hoarse and low, and Fuki's grip tightened around her fist of fabric.

"I thought you were smart, with how fast you picked up the theory. But you're stupid. I would accept that this is your fate now – becoming a ninja. Others didn't and met their end sooner than they thought."

Fuki abruptly released her. Sakura slid to the floor, and sat there, staring up at the girl with wide eyes, heaving for breath. Her neck felt sore, where the fabric had scraped and coiled.

Fuki sighed; it rattled in her chest. With a last disgusted look at Sakura, she turned on her heel and stormed out the door.

Sakura stayed in the lavatory for a long time, even as the thunder of footsteps in the hallways faded away. She stared up at the tiled walls, mildew forming in the lines, at the wooden doors of the stalls. On the greasy paint, girls had written all sorts of messages.

Childish handwriting scrawled by the doorknob, spelling_ Sho is hot_, and _who needs taijutsu when there's chakra?_. Little hearts littered the edges of the door, along with a crude sketch of a cat, and as Sakura leaned back against the tiles, she allowed her gaze to stray towards the paper-clapped ceiling.

She had done that herself in her civilian school, along with a few other girls. Most of the time she had just watched. Grab a fistful of toilet paper. Soak it in water, wring it out. When thrown on the ceiling, it would plaster and linger – a little imperfection against the otherwise spotless ceiling.

The door slung open.

Sakura couldn't hide her startled jerk. She had to thrust out a hand to keep herself from toppling. The back of her head clapped against the greasy tiles.

Ami's eyes caught it. "Not a chakra sensor, eh?" she said, as she stepped over Sakura's legs to stand by the sink. She studied herself in the mirror and pricked at a few blackheads with the edge of her nail. "Too bad. Not many people are."

She shot a look at Sakura. "Stop wallowing, and get up. Suzume-sensei is waiting."

When they entered the classroom, most of the children were too occupied to notice. They were hunched over several stacks of paper, split into small groups.

Sakura could easily imagine this scene took place in another school, her civilian one, where they struggled with math questions, wrote essays on merchant routes in the Land of Fire. Where her mother stood waiting by the school entrance, in front of that wrought iron gate, white hair tucked neatly under her cap.

"Haruno." Suzume-sensei beckoned her. Her gaze, stormy and dark, was penetrating. "You're late. Have you fallen ill?"

Sakura shook her head. "I just lost track of time. It won't happen again, I promise."

"Not to worry," her teacher said. She tossed a few strands of auburn hair over her shoulder and fished her round glasses from her nose. Cleaning the lenses with the inside of her shirt, she said, "I was just wondering if you were settling in alright. Civilian children always have it the hardest, especially the older ones."

"It's -" Sakura began, but then fell silent, since she had no idea what to say. She could hardly be honest with her teacher, no matter how nice she seemed, and tell her that she wrote down the times of Ami's prefect patrols, that she angled her body towards the exit during mealtimes, in the hope of an escape. That she woke up in the night, watchful and alert, heart going fast.

"It's an adjustment," she said finally, after she realized she had been silent for too long in contemplation. Ami's grip on her elbow was light, and she shook it off. "I'm sure that with time it will all be alright."

"Naturally," Suzume-sensei said, with a nod of her head. There was a wistful tone to her voice. "We are working on the anatomy of the brain today, Sakura. We'll need it for genjutsu practice. Does that sound interesting to you?"

"Very," Sakura said, and it shocked her that she was being honest. This was better than toiling away at the endless range of katas in the courtyard, under a blazing sun. Biology had been her favorite subject before. "I'll do my best."

Ami led her to one of the empty tables. On her way, she spotted Fuki in the corner of the room. Her head was tilted towards the boy next to her, as he chatted away with animated hand gestures. As if she could feel the weight of Sakura's gaze, Fuki peered over her shoulder, and narrowed her eyes at her.

Ami tugged on her sleeve. With a shake of her head, Sakura turned away from the corner, and sat down by the window.

Ami pushed a stack of papers towards her. "Fuki doesn't think you'll learn."

"Do you?"

"I think you should prove us wrong," Ami said. She met Sakura's silent stare squarely, almost defiantly, and then looked down to read her text.

-0

[Snakeskin]

-0

Genjutsu, Sakura found in the following weeks, was fascinating.

Perhaps it appealed to her, because it was a welcome break from her other courses. In class, they mostly poured over medical texts, to understand the different functions of the brain, where one neurological pathway morphed into another.

Sakura sketched her chakra system in her notebook, and trailed her arm with a pen, trying to feel the energy that pulsed deep under her skin.

It was strange to think that such power was right at her fingertips. Residing within her – a weak girl. The power to cause hallucinations, to warp reality, to induce fear. It was frightening, but above all, it was fascinating.

The longer she spent at the Academy, walking to classes with Fuki and Ami, learning taijutsu, how to throw a kunai, deciphering codes, the more she wondered what she would have done, had she known of this before the stranger took her away.

If Mommy had simply asked her to join the Academy – would she have complied, or would she have turned away from the idea of violence? From power?

She didn't know. There were a lot of things she didn't know lately, Sakura thought.

Suzume-sensei set them on plastering leaves against her foreheads. Ami cursed after hers fell off after two minutes and thirty-three seconds, and Fuki gave it up as a bad job altogether, when it wouldn't even stick to her forehead.

"You have to concentrate," Sakura told her friend. She added another one to her face, and balanced it on the tip of her nose. She was now sporting three leaves. "You have to imagine the chakra. Bend it."

"I am," Ami snarled at her. A droplet of sweat trickled down her temple and she wiped it away with an angry swat of her hand. Sakura shared a smile with Fuki, and tried to stifle the vindictive feeling blooming in her stomach. It felt good to be better at something.

So far, the theory in her science lessons, and even the history test of yesterday, which she found decidedly mind-numbing, had been easy enough. The practical side, however, alluded her. Ami kicked her in the dirt during their sparring sessions, so each night she had a new bruise to tend to, and Fuki's aim was frighteningly accurate. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't throw five shirukens at once, and expect them to hit.

"Have you studied the chakra network?"

Ami gave her a puzzled frown. "Of course I have. We've done nothing else the last week."

"Then you know one of the main major coils runs through here." Sakura tapped the center of her forehead, just above her nose. "Place your leaf there, hold it, and accumulate your chakra."

Ami did so, though not without sending Sakura a dirty glare.

"Three minutes," Fuki said, when the leaf floated to the ground. Ami snatched it from the air and crushed it in her palm, her expression murderous. "It's not so bad."

"I will never go to the White Dorm, with this sort of a performance," Ami hissed at her. There was something wild in her eyes. Was it panic? Sakura wasn't sure.

"The White Dorm?" She reached out and grasped Ami's hand firmly in her own, smiling warmly and reassuringly. "What is that?"

"It's where the clan kids go," Fuki said.

She leaned back in her chair. Sunlight was lancing off her shoulders. "Or those with ninja parents."

"Or," Ami said, as she stared down at the remnants of her leaf in her palm, "those with flawless grades."

"Why is it better than this dorm?" Sakura asked. "It's clear you want to go there."

"Let's just say it sort of seals your future," Fuki said. At Sakura's questioning look, she groaned. "Look – when you graduate with those icky clan children, you don't need to worry. Most likely you'll get on a team with people trained from the moment they could crawl, let alone walk, with a good jounin instructor – probably one who has made a name for themselves. It opens all kinds of doors, because then you're not just another nameless civilian trying their hand at fighting."

Sakura had never heard Fuki sound so disparaging, and full of disdain, save for their argument in the lavatory. There was too much white visible in her eyes, and her smile was more a baring of teeth.

"She,", here Fuki pointed to Ami, who sharply turned her head away, "wants part of that, because she has it in her mind that she can become one of the Sannin's prized students. Senju Tsunade's student, to be exact."

Sakura faintly remembered her. The Hokage's teammate. There had been several books about her even in the civilian library. The Healer. The Slug Princess.

"It's not some stupid dream," Ami said. Her eyes glittered dangerously. "Tsunade-sama has only trained one – Shizune, who's now headmedic. Each year new people apply, but so far she hasn't accepted anyone."

"And Ami is convinced she's going to make a difference." Fuki rolled her eyes.

"It's not stupid. It's not!" Ami's cheeks were flushed, and her fingers curled and uncurled around her pencil, as if she had to restrain herself from punching Fuki in the face.

"Tsunade-sama healed my mother," Ami said, as she turned towards Sakura. "She was terminally ill and on her deathbed, but Tsunade-sama came in, and healed her, even when all the other medics couldn't do anything. That's why I decided to become a kunoichi. That's why I want to go to the White Dorm."

"A very respectable goal," Sakura said, nodding her head, mostly to defuse the tension. "I'm sure you'll do well."

"Not if I can't get this right," Ami said, and she held up another leaf.

"We'll train together," Sakura said, as she nudged her friend with her elbow. "Everyday. I'll help you."

The gratitude in her friend's eyes made something in her chest swell, and Sakura had to keep herself from beaming. They continued putting leaves on their forehead, and she made sure to smile encouragingly and cheer Ami on, when the leaves didn't stay plastered against her skin. Fuki crossed her arms, and stared off out the window, silent and displeased.

At the end, they packed up their things. Suzume-sensei seized her by the shoulder, as her classmates trickled out the room. Ami and Fuki halted as well, a silent question in their gaze, but Suzume-sensei waved them along. "Go on. I need to speak to Haruno alone."

She led Sakura to her desk, and pushed a paper towards her. "I had a suspicion," she said.

"Yuuhi Kurenai," Sakura read out loud. A woman's face stared back from the paper, eyes solemn and a glowing red.

"She's a chuunin, who will be taking the jounin exam next month," Suzume-sensei explained. "A genjutsu specialist, and a particularly good friend of mine. I thought a student as gifted as you could learn a thing or two from a true chakra expert."

"Wouldn't it be better if this chance went to Ami?" Sakura asked. She didn't like the way Suzume-sensei was looking at her, full of expectation. And neither did she want to alienate her friendly roommate, who was at the top of all her classes, and pranced about with a big "P" on her clothes.

Suzume-sensei's expression was kind. "I don't deny that she has potential, and though she is not without talent, she does by no means excel at chakra control. You do."

When Sakura was silent for too long in contemplation, her teacher angled forward slightly and laid a hand on her shoulder. The weight was pleasant and comforting, and she fought to keep her longing off her face.

"Don't throw this chance away easily," she said. "Friendship is a vast and wonderful thing, but no true friend would ask another to curb their talent."

Sakura swallowed. "Is it like an apprenticeship?"

"Nothing like that. Just a few lessons here and there."

-0

[Snakeskin]

-0

Sakura dreamt of her mother.

Her old house came alive, bright and bubbly, pink carnations by the door, the smell of nutmeg and eggs spilling out from the kitchen. Mommy, in a velvet vest, with the family crest embroidered on the back. Her father's picture, by the shrine, two flickering candles.

That was most of what she could remember; him in a picture. A person faded, year by year, like the dye seeping out laundered clothes. A pattern here and there. The smile from the picture was vivid, but she couldn't remember the actual curling of his lips. How he sounded when he laughed – whether it came from his belly, whether it throttled in his throat. If he snorted like a pig, and clutched his stomach.

"I didn't know they would take you today," Mommy said. Suddenly Sakura was sitting at the kitchen table, staring down at a set of physics questions, while her mother stood by the counter in the kitchen, with a glass of lemonade. Three ice cubes were floating in it.

_I didn't know they would take you today._ The lights above the table flickered. Somewhere in the distance, a dog barked. Then a shadow spilled through the window, and grasped her by her wrist, holding up a blindfold.

Sakura looked up, but it was not the stranger who stared back at her. It was her mother's face, painted upon the stranger's mask. The porcelain lips moved: _I didn't know they would take you today._

The features began to melt, like candle wax, dripping over the black-clad shoulders, onto the floor. A few droplets splattered on Sakura's arm, and it felt oddly slimy._ I didn't know they would take you today._ The features twisted, morphed, and worms came wriggling out of the eye holes. Fat and white, as long as her fingers. _I didn't know. I didn't know. I didn't -_

She awoke to a set of even breaths.

Slowly, she propped herself up on her elbows, and stared out into the darkness. A tiny figure was huddled together in the other lower bunk bed, swaddled and coiled in blankets. Fuki's red tufts of hair peeked out from under her covers.

The air was muggy and humid with twice-breathed air, so she threw the covers off and slung her legs over the edge of the bed. Sakura glanced at the clock on the wall; it read four past two. She hadn't planned to awake for another hour or so, but now was as good a time as any.

She drew her latest treasure from under her pillow. The kunai glinted at her in the bright moonlight that filtered through the blinds. It was so sharp that it would draw blood as easily as a knife going through butter. Kazuki-sensei hadn't even noticed when she'd nicked it during target practice; while he was busy lecturing two tanned boys in motley clothing over 'safety procedures', she had tugged it from the stack and sheathed it in her belt.

She crept towards the door. The hallway was cool and lush, and the cold air bit at Sakura's face, as she hurried down the corridors. She was dressed far too lightly for this hour, only clad in a nightdress and no shoes or socks to speak of, but it made her feel alert.

She stopped by one corner, and counted the seconds in her head. Once she heard the quiet rustle of clothing and the step-step-step of the watcher's boots, she pressed herself deeper into the shadows. He passed her without trouble; a prefect and a boy of ten. He swung and twirled in his steps, his head lolling from side to side, as if he was dancing to an unheard tune.

Once she saw him pass around a corner, she came out of her hiding place, and continued on her way once more. There would be another patrol in fifteen minutes. She had to be quick.

She stopped by Suzume-sensei's office, and fished her make-shift lockpick out of her pocket. She had broken off the handle of a metal clothes hanger and had stuffed the remnant under her mattress. Fuki would let it pass – she wouldn't even bat an eye at it, if Sakura were to keep silent – but she wasn't sure Ami would too.

She dug the metal edge into the lock and twisted. It wouldn't budge. Biting down on a curse, she settled on her knees and peered inside through the key lock. It was dark inside – so pitch black that she couldn't discern anything.

She kept at it. Going back would be admitting defeat, and worse, it meant that she needed to find a new lockpick. Time seemed to stretch. Sakura kept an anxious eye on the corner, where, with each passing moment, she expected a patrolling prefect to show up. There were no hiding places here, no creeks or turns where the shadows were darker. If someone were to stumble upon her, she was busted.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the door let out a click. Sakura slipped inside, and breathed a sigh of relief, as the door fell shut. Her palms were slick with sweat.

She hurried towards the cabinets, and curled her fingers around a thick rope. The stiff strands chafed along her palm, as she stood there wondering if it could support her weight. With an impatient sigh, she threw it over her shoulder.

A picture of a bespectacled girl stared at her from one corner, with her hair in two twin braids. She had Suzume-sensei's eyes and nose.

Sakura opened the drawers and pulled out a thick stack of texts. They were dossiers, Sakura noted, feeling her jaw going slack with surprise. Hastily she pawed through it until her name glared at her from one creamy page.

The inside was coded. She scanned the text quickly, but she couldn't make out any of the ciphers, and she couldn't take it with her to decipher at a later date. Someone was bound to notice its disappearance. With a sigh, she turned the dossier around and went to put it back, but froze in shock.

On the back, in bright black letters, was a balance sheet. Her mother's name was on top.

For a moment Sakura could only stare at it. _I didn't know they would take you today._ Her fist tightened around the paper. _I didn't know they would take you today._

Her mother was getting paid for this. Her mother had sold her.

Sakura grounded her teeth together and thrust the stack of paper back into the drawer. Her hand trembled with rage, which caused her makeshift lockpick to prick her thigh. She drove it in deeper, just to feel the ache – to ground herself.

She wanted to get out of here, but there was nothing to return to.

-0

[Snakeskin]

-0

Yuuhi Kurenai was waiting for her by the gate. Sakura pushed down her nervousness, and raised her chin. Suzume-sensei had recommended her, and she wouldn't have done so if she doubted her abilities. She could do this. She wouldn't fail.

The woman smiled at her in greeting, and it brought out a soft prettiness. The photograph had nothing on her, Sakura noticed; gone was the grave-looking shinobi that had stared out at her from a picture.

"Glad to meet you," Yuuhi said. "You're my first ever pupil." She sounded a bit breathless and raked a hand through her wild locks. "I suggest we get something to eat, and then we'll see how far your training has progressed."

Sakura nodded, and went to turn around, back to the Academy's canteen, but the woman seized her shoulder. "This way," she said, and led Sakura out the gate.

It was strange to be back in the village. Surreal, almost. The air felt empty, unfamiliar and customary at once, as she walked through the streets she had so many times walked before. She caught a glimpse of herself in the dusty shop windows; baby chub in her cheeks, bright-eyed – a child playing dress up.

Yuuhi stopped by a vendor, and came back with two dango sticks. She munched on one, and then asked, "So, tell me, are you very interested in genjutsu?"

"Well, quite a bit – it has many uses after all. It's fascinating, really," Sakura said. "But chakra, in general, interests me. I'm not as good at genjutsu, as I am at chakra control."

Yuuhi led them through a throng of chattering ladies, and pulled Sakura to the side, when a man with a cart almost bumped into her. She muttered a quick thanks, and was glad when they went for the training grounds, the busy morning market firmly left behind them.

"Suzume did say you were a good student."

"I suppose," Sakura said, "I'm only good at her lessons, though. I'm useless at everything else."

"That's not what she tells me," Yuuhi said. "Top grades for all the theoretical classes. You have brains, Sakura-chan."

She stifled the flush that rose at the informal address. The woman was still smiling kindly at her, happily munching away at her dango stick. "Don't be so quick to dismiss yourself," she said, as they came upon one of the training grounds. "Others will do that for you – you don't want them to think you agree with their assessment."

"I don't really care," Sakura said, although it felt like a lie. She had always wanted praise. Had craved it._ Yours is the prettiest pink in the world, Sakura-chan._

"I mean," Sakura cast around for words, "I never wanted this. I didn't choose this." Then, she waited, looking up at Yuuhi, for a gasp of outrage, or a questioning look. None of that came.

Instead, the woman sighed deeply, and looked around the training field. It was almost peaceful, standing there in that tiny meadow, listening to the quiet caw-calling and twittering of the birds, and the occasional buzzing of an insect.

"It wasn't like this, when I was younger," Yuuhi said. She looked wistful. "The Academy was different then. When Orochimaru-sama became Hokage, he revolutionized the system. Changed it completely."

"It's barbaric," Sakura spat. "I never wanted this. Please, can you help me? Can you help me get out?"

"It has aided our village immensely, Sakura," Yuuhi sighed. "Last war weakened us, and this system helped us recover. There is nothing I can do."

"Last war was a decade ago," Sakura said, and even she heard the pathetic, pleading tone of her voice. Turning away from Yuuhi, Sakura stared off at the tree line. "My mother gets an allowance, for each month I spent learning at the Academy," she said. "I saw the actual numbers."

They were silent for a long moment. "I can't help you," Yuuhi said, "but you can. When you graduate, that allowance will come to a stop. In eyes of the law, the moment that you receive your headband and become a shinobi of Konoha, you are an adult." She looked Sakura deep in the eye. "Then you can decide for yourself."

She swallowed back the bile at the back of her throat and nodded.

Yuuhi gestured for Sakura to sit. "Have you ever heard of tree walking?"

As they spent the rest of the day soaking up the sunlight, with Sakura walking up a tree, and then progressing to water walking, she couldn't shake one thought. The adults all knew of this. Of the Academy, and the involuntary enrollments.

And they were fine with it.

-0

[Snakeskin]

-0

She had never laid eyes on this dormitory, with its wide shutters and lush rooms. Ivy angled up the walls, encircled the wrought iron railings of the balconies. Cherry trees were planted around the massive building, though they did not bloom, and hovered over the wide training lawns. Straw dummies were stationed on the left side of the building, where the shadows grew darker, and Sakura thought she spotted a climbing frame in the distance.

She traipsed through the darkness and dashed forward to the wall. There were fewer guard towers here, and the light of their bright beams didn't penetrate as far.

At the base of the wall, it seemed huge. It towered over her, a looming obstacle. She swallowed against the sudden bile in her throat. Every time she had a bit of hope, something else would come up to cast it aside again. Was it so wrong she wanted to be free of this place?

She tightened her fingers around the handle of the kunai. Even if she did not have the strength to get to the very top, she would try. One way or another, she would rid herself of the Academy.

A flash of movement in the corner of her eye. As her kunai slid from her belt, she was already moving, whirling in the direction of the intruder, and drawing her weapon upwards in a deadly arc. She kicked out his legs from under him and grabbed him by the throat.

"Woah." It was a boy's face that stared out from the darkness at her, and his voice was so loud Sakura was certain it carried far.

"You okay? You look kind of scary."

Sakura pressed the flat of her kunai tighter against his throat. "You be quiet," she hissed at him. When his breath was all she could listen to, she dared a look over her shoulder at the dormitory. All the lights were still off, but she wasn't so delusional to think that anyone needed light to be deadly. Not anymore. If anything, predators were more dangerous in the dark.

She needed to get away from here, lest she be caught with a stolen weapon and a stolen rope, and a failed escape attempt.

"What are you doing out at this hour?" the boy asked, and paid no heed to her furrowed brows, though he did flinch away from her when her eyes flashed dangerously in warning. "I'm going to booby trap the dojo, you see, 'cause Sensei said teaching me is like an S-rank mission, 'cause I can't aim that good, and almost took Sasuke's eye out the other day, but that's no biggie, since he's much faster anyway, and he isn't the one who got angry about it."

The boy talked too quickly, with too many animated hand gestures. Sakura was tired. Tired of this strange boy, with strange long whisker-like markings on his cheeks and spiky blonde hair, tired of sneaking around in the dark to avoid her captors, tired of smiling and pretending it was fine her mother sold her to a literal training camp.

"Shut up," she said.

The boy fell silent, and his gaze roamed over her face. Then he opened his mouth once more, "You're very pretty."

His teeth clicked together, and he flushed such a deep shade of red that Sakura had no trouble discerning it even in the dark. She swallowed, feeling awkward and wrong-footed, and cast around for something to say.

"Hey, would you mind removing your kunai?" the boy asked, with a good-natured grin. "Not that I mind and all, but we're friends now, and that's not good practice."

"We're not friends." Sakura flinched back. She stuffed the kunai back in her belt and focused on the sting of the cold metal against her thigh. It helped ground her.

"Of course we are! Nothing says friendship than a good rule-breaking session in the middle of the night." He grinned at her, his eyes too wide and too blue. "I'm Naruto Namikaze. Pleased to meet you, Pink Lady."

"My name is Sakura." She didn't know why she felt compelled to tell him that. Now he could identify her, tattle to the supervisors – who knew what they would do to her? Though with her pink hair, it wouldn't be hard to pick her out from a crowd. Something about Naruto's open face however, the way his markings rippled with the force of his smile, told her he wouldn't tell.

"It suits you."

Sakura raised an eyebrow at him and fingered the straps of her bag. "My parents weren't very creative."

"Maybe they just knew you'd be as pretty as cherry trees in full bloom."

It startled a laugh of her. "Did your mother give you a lesson in poetry or something?"

Naruto's smile widened. "It's my dad who's the helpless romantic, actually. Every year he tries to bake a cake for my mom, and fails miserably. Two years ago, he tried to make a heart-shaped one with "greatest love" on it, and almost burned the whole kitchen down. Since then we stick to ramen from Ichiraku's, since there is nothing Mom likes better anyway."

Sakura couldn't remember any romantic gestures in her own family. She couldn't remember a lot about her parents' relationship. The maundering of voices behind her saved her from a reply.

"Come," Naruto whispered. He took her palm in his hand – his fingers were clammy but warm, and they tightened comfortably around her own. "I won't let us be seen."

He led her along the wall. Sakura held her breath, aware that her steps were loud compared to Naruto's. He walked almost silently, like a cat prowling in the dark. Was he a prefect like Ami? Or was he one of the fabled clan children?

They stopped behind the house. Naruto pried a window open and hopped inside, beckoning her to follow. She hoisted herself over the edge and tumbled down.

Naruto's hand caught her and helped her up. He held a finger against his lips. "Sensei sleeps right above this room," he said, and Sakura saw, when she looked around, that they were in a weapon storage.

"We're closest to the actual danger now," he explained, at her dismayed look. "They won't look here, and he's no chakra sensor, so if we're really quiet, he won't notice."

They settled down in a corner to wait, careful not to touch anything. They shuffled down a rack of spears, and Sakura had to slap Naruto's hand away, when he reached for a particularly well-crafted Boko, with a handle covered in scarlet velvet.

"What were you doing by the wall?" In the darkness, she could just make out the edges of his face. "Were you... escaping?"

She swallowed. Nodded. Naruto breathed in sharply. "That's pretty pointless. They'd bring you back."

The sounds of their hushed breathing filled the room. From where she sat, she could see the light coming through the small interstice by the door, a dim glow, and she wondered what lay behind it. Ami, with her perfect grades, would be transferred to this dorm next semester.

"You're not from here," Naruto said softly. She tore her gaze away from the entrance to look at him; his eyes seemed to glitter in the dark. "You're not from a clan."

"I'm from the Haruno clan," Sakura said defensively. She crossed her arms over her chest.

Naruto shifted and leaned forward. "But not a ninja clan. You're not even from a shinobi family, or else you would have been put in this dorm too. A civilian family then."

"So what?" The words came out harsher than intended, but as she spoke them, she realized she did indeed feel angry. She remembered how Nagisa had spat 'civilian' at her like a curse word. How Ami talked about this place as if it was divine. She wasn't less worthy than them, just because she didn't have ninja relatives. She wasn't.

Naruto held up his hands. "Nothing. It's my mom who comes from the Uzumaki clan, which has always been held in great esteem -' He spoke the words as if he had heard them a many times before. "and they even had their own village once. But my dad – he's an orphan from a civilian family, and he almost made it to Hokage. So, nothing."

The silence that followed felt oppressive. Sakura averted her gaze. "Sorry." Her venom seemed stupid and childish, in hindsight.

"It's fine. I get it. Sasuke is one of those idiots who think they're superior because of their blood. But Mom says it's a load of bull."

"She sounds nice."

"She is. She looks a bit like you, actually." He squinted at her in the dark. "Not your face, but she has bright hair as well. Only hers is red, not pink."

She cast a look around the room. "What's it like living in this dorm?"

"It's pretty fun. I share a room with idiot Sasuke, but he's not that bad once you get to know him – and we've known each other for ages. Ino and Hinata live across the hall, and we often hang out with them. Sometimes we have secret sleepovers with the entire corridor, even though that's not allowed."

Fewer rules. Fewer regulations. Were they less likely to run? Or were they simply not put there against their will, and was that why they experienced more freedom?

"I have to try to get here." The words spilled out of her mouth and positioned themselves between them. It would take hard work – she would have to take Ami's spot at the top of their class. She would need to impress her teachers, - no, no, baffle them - and the thought was not as sour as it could have been. Sakura had always been a teacher's pet, had always driven herself to limits for some praise, some recognition. Now she would do it for some freedom.

"That would be nice. Ino would really like you, I think. Perhaps we can be put on a team together – I really hope Kakashi-nii will be our sensei when we graduate since Dad is making him retire from ANBU."

"That would be nice," Sakura agreed. "Less chance of dying."

Naruto's unsurprised, but remorseful expression told her he knew about the death rates of former civilian teams.

"No dying," he said firmly. "Promise."

"Promise," Sakura said, and they smiled at each other in the dark.

Once the day dawned on them, and sunlight began to filter through the window, they rose as one, and went back through the window. They ventured back to the fence that separated the civilian and ninja dormitories, and each went their own way. Sakura waved at Naruto from on top of the fence, and then hopped off. She didn't look back.

Instead, she raised her head, and smiled. Sakura Haruno was getting out of here, one way or another.

-0

[Snakeskin]

-0

I was really anxious to post this. I hope people will like this. It's definitely an AU, and might not be everyone's cup of tea. I've always liked Sakura-centric stories, and really wanted to write one. For those that did like it, chapter 2 is in the works!

Wishing you all the best,

Ringwil


	2. Chapter 2

**Snakeskin**

Sometimes you can't remain the prey. Orochimaru succeeded in becoming Hokage and revolutionized the Academy. Konoha comes for Sakura one day, armed with doctrine and regulations. Thrust in a world where blood and power rule, she will need to adapt and swallow her hate, if she wants to stay alive. One way or another, Sakura will claw her way up to freedom. AU!

-0

[Snakeskin]

-0

All the weeks blurred together.

Schoolwork, training, exercise. She walked, ran, fought, prodded, paraded.

For the Village, the teachers told her. For the Village, Ami grunted, when Sakura kneed her in her stomach and sent her sprawling.

With time, Sakura found herself mouthing along. It was easier than to keep silent, with every student looking at her, judgment in their eyes. Easier to duck her head and say it too, and there was something about it that made her chest all warm. Something like belonging, chanting those words, Ami and Fuki beside her, their body heat casting a warm glow.

She took to exercise as she had never done before. On star-flooded night, dew-soaked early mornings, she ran over the courtyards. Over the hills. She forced herself to be faster. Her lungs screamed for air. Her side stung like a thousand bees. She jumped over toppled trees, and jagged rocks, through clusters of foxgloves and yellow-tinted ferns. Vines swept at her legs and left red, irritated scratches on her ankles.

"Strip away every weakness," Kazuki-sensei called out, as he paced across the courtyard and surveyed the spars. "You will not hesitate. You will not doubt. You will become a river – fast and raging and all surging in one direction. For the Village!"

"For the Village," echoed the children. Sakura mouthed along with the words and ducked to avoid an incoming fist. Her opponent was a tall boy with snarled white hair. He eyed her the way a cat might eye a mouse – predatory and cautious.

Never before had she been a part of something so single-minded. Never before had she belonged to a group that moved as one, with one purpose in mind. Serve the Village.

"You will be a forest," Kazuki-sensei said, his voice rumbling over the yard. Sakura wiped the sweat off her brow and looked at him. He stalked across the cobblestone, like a predatory feline, his eyes glinting under his heavy, bulging brow. "Your roots will be connected to those of your classmates. Konoha's army moves as one. For the Village!"

"For the Village," Sakura murmured, along with the other children. She moved to another opponent; a reedy boy, with strong tendons in his forearm and a sullen look on his face. She was chipping something away deep inside of her. A block of marble – a chisel working away at a statue. Wet clay – hands molding her into a shinobi.

She could hear the words in her sleep.

"Start," Kazuki barked. Sakura pushed her trepidation away, stifled her feelings of disgust at the thought of violence. Her fist met the boy's nose and she could feel something give way. Warm, dark blood gushed over her hand, and she brought her knee up into his stomach.

He was sent sprawling over the cobblestones.

"Good job," Kazuki-sensei's voice rolled over her shoulder. She spared him a look. His throat was splotched red and white. "Go on."

The boy was standing up again. He swayed slightly on his feet, one hand extended as if he could balance himself on air. The sun lanced off his shoulders, the Academy looming behind him in all its glory. Sakura's blood galloped through her ventricles, and she pounced.

She stayed away from the fence, though she found herself looking out the window in its direction more and more. Each time she hoped for a glimpse of Naruto, and each time she was afraid she would actually find him there. Naruto was her secret, and a part of her wanted him to stay that way – that mysterious boy she found in the middle of the night.

She stayed up late, driving herself through a series of complicated math, or tracing the chakra paths. It was necessary, she told herself. She couldn't lose sight of her goal.

She transferred to the other dorm seven months after her arrival at the Academy.

-0

[Snakeskin]

-0

The day of the transfer dawned quietly upon her. She stepped out into the courtyard, Ami right behind her, brushing her hands over any imaginary wrinkles on her uniform. Her hair had been brushed to perfection, her belt polished, her sandals cleaned of any dirt or dust.

Nagisa was waiting for them under the eaves of the courtyard. Patches of fog still clung to the branches of the trees. Her golden bracelets glittered up in the shallow sunlight. Beside her was a boy, scuffing up dirt and grass with a sandaled foot.

"Kind of you to join us," Nagisa said, as they dropped into a low bow. She smiled at them, showing too many teeth. The senbon in her hair shifted slightly. "Let's get going now, shall we?"

She walked ahead of them, like a general leading an army. She led them over the sand path meandering through the meadow towards the Gate. A wooden ninja toy lay forgotten next to it, half-obstructed from view by the knee-high grass, its red paint slowly chipping off.

When the new dorm came into view, Ami sucked a breath from beside her. Sakura supposed it made a pretty sight, especially in the shallow morning air, the way the sun lanced off the iron-wrought balconies, the way ivy and stonecrop crept up the white stone walls, covering even some windows.

But it was nothing she had not seen before, that night, and so Sakura found her gaze wandering over the lawns towards a group of children that were watching them from on top of the hill.

Naruto was not among them. The blonde girl of the group caught her attention. She was not particularly tall, but the way she carried herself, made you think she was. A purple flower was pressed behind her hair. One hand waved lazily.

"I wish Fuki was here with us," Ami said. She had followed Sakura's gaze and now looked up to her. "I think she would have liked it too."

She had not thought of Fuki at all. Fuki would be fine, she told herself. She wasn't as talented as Ami or had worked as hard as Sakura, but she would fine. The shame in her chest was entirely irrational.

A beckoning from Nagisa had them moving again. She led them into the building, into the hallway, where a man with a scarred face smiled fondly at them.

"New students," he said jovially, stepping forward. "Always a pleasure. You can all call me Iruka-sensei."

The slightly constipated look on Nagisa's face showed she didn't agree. "They're all yours now, Umino. I would get them settled in straight away because some of the other brats were watching and undoubtedly want to meet them."

"I'm sure," Iruka-sensei said. His smile was a bit sharper this time, but his eyes were still fond as he looked at them.

"Before I take my leave – a word, if I may, Haruno?"

Sakura couldn't hide her startled jerk. Ami shot her a curious look, but she was too shocked to pay it any mind, as she followed Nagisa to the corner of the hallway. Had Naruto talked? Had someone seen her with the rope? The kunai? Had someone noticed her with the dossiers? She wondered what they would do to her. She thought about all the desensitization classes, and her hands began to shake.

Her heart rate climbed. Nagisa's cold gaze came to lie on her face again, and Sakura wondered if she could hear it, pounding as if it wanted to bruise her skin.

"I was surprised, Haruno," Nagisa began. Her smile stretched and stretched. "Civilian born children don't usually do so well in their first months. Too much to adjust to, I suspect. And not many do well enough to catch the eye of a Jonin. Yuuhi Kurenai was quite pleased with you, I heard."

That was not what she'd expected. Her lips parted for one curious breath. A child's holler came through the window.

"I was asked to give you this token," Nagisa said and she pressed something in her palm. "Sponsors like this usually go via the parent, but I specifically instructed to give it to you."

"Who? K-Kurenai?"

"No. Not her, I'm afraid. Your sponsor prefers to remain anonymous." Nagisa's flashed another of her smiles at her. "Now I must go. Enjoy your new living quarters."

Sakura watched her go and then turned to the token in her hands. It was a coin. She trailed her thumb over Konoha's symbol and flipped it around. Engraved was a tree.

She wondered what it all meant. She wondered who had noticed her of all people – just a silly girl playing pretend – and her heart grew cold. Startled, she jerked her head back and swept her gaze around the room. Were they watching her now?

"Sakura." Ami's voice rolled over her shoulder. She was waiting by the staircase. Iruka-sensei and the boy were already halfway up the steps. "Let's go see our rooms."

Tucking her coin into her pocket, Sakura turned towards her and followed her up the steps. This was a mystery that would have to wait. It was of no consequence anyway.

After all, she had no intention of staying here.

-0

[Snakeskin]

-0

Naruto found her two hours later after she settled into her new room and unpacked her bag. This time she had no roommates to share with, and the lack of any presence made her bare room feel a little cold. She had gotten used to rolling to the edge of the mattress and see Ami's hand dangling over the railing. Fuki easing herself out of the sheets, placing her bare feet on the cold wooden floor.

The intimacy of living in the same room, breathing the same air, hearing maundering voices in the early morning when she could only groan and roll over and go back to sleep – all of that was gone now. It was like walking down a stairway, thinking there was going to be another step, but there wasn't and suddenly she was traveling through the air, falling with air rushing past her cheeks. It was unforeseen, unanticipated. Perhaps she just missed having someone understand what it was like to be alone.

"Sakura!" A head of blonde wisps peeked into the room. Naruto smiled at her – a coral row of teeth. "Woah, don't you have a roommate?"

She shook her head, and the motion tossed a few strands of pink hair into her eyes. "No. Umino said there were empty rooms."

"Yeah." Naruto shrugged and flopped onto her bed. "The year above us just graduated. Wanna go meet Sasuke? He's my best friend."

"Sure." Sakura checked herself in the mirror and was glad that she still looked presentable.

Naruto grabbed her by the hand. His palm was warm. While leading her through the corridor and down the stairs, he said, "I'm sure he'll like you. I mean, how could he not?" His face looked a little red, and Sakura wisely kept silent.

He brought her outside, but instead of trudging up the grassy hills, he led her around the main building and onto a pebble path that meandered past overgrown bracken towards a clearing next to a pond. Bulrushes, patches of foxgloves and several richly green bushes surrounded it. There, on a mossy wooden bench, sat a boy who looked much out of place in the tranquil atmosphere.

When they came into the clearing, he turned his head towards them and Sakura got a good look at him. Dark hair and eyes, a pale complexion – he was pretty in a natural way that not many people were. Something in her chest fluttered.

"Dobe," he said, gaze flickering between them. A beam of sunlight edged up his face. "She really is pink."

Sakura's eyebrows drew together of their own accord, and she wondered if that was the only thing special about her. _The prettiest pink in the world_, Mommy had said, and suddenly she was glad that it was short and cropped.

Naruto laughed. He dragged her into her sun. "Sakura, meet this prat, Sasuke. Sasuke, this is Sakura. She's new and we're going to make her feel right at home, aren't we?"

There was a vague threat in his singsongy voice. Sasuke seemed to ignore that and instead regarded her silently. She met his gaze with a tremulous smile, and then when the staring became almost uncomfortable and she was beginning to regret leaving her room at all, he inclined his head slightly.

"Yay," Naruto said. "Best friends already."

"Shut up, dobe."

-0

[Snakeskin]

-0

Life at the White Dorm didn't differ much. Sakura went to the lessons, practiced her kata, burrowed her nose in medical and genjutsu texts just as much as before. During the day, she stuck mostly to Naruto and Sasuke. She had expected to have to include Ami, but surprisingly, her friend seemed to have found a group of her own. The blonde girl that she'd spotted on the hill the day of the arrival was among them and Ami often sat next to her, happily chatting away over lunch.

Sakura told herself she wasn't disappointed. She wasn't, for the most part, at least. Naruto did his utmost best to include her in everything. He dragged her out to the pond, showed her around the buildings, explored every nook and cranny, with Sasuke tagging along. Sakura wasn't sure the other boy liked her, but he did tolerate her, though she expected it was only because of Naruto.

She met Ami's new friend during a taijutsu lesson when she was watching a spar between Sasuke and Naruto.

Sasuke moved with a grace Sakura could only envy. His movements were calculated, controlled. Every action was executed with utmost perfection, angled at the perfect degrees. There was no overreaching. No hesitation. No use of excessive force.

Naruto's movements, on the other hand, seemed bold and amateurish in comparison. His movements were almost thoughtless, and he took several hits to his torso when Sasuke dove forward to attack. He seemed utterly unfazed by pain, as he only shrugged and laughed and aimed a kick at his opponent's jaw.

There was an efficiency to it that Sakura noticed the longer she watched. While Sasuke seemed to carefully watch his energy levels, Naruto didn't seem to care at all. He dodged and danced out of the way of Sasuke's fists with huge leaps into the air, a grin tugged into his cheek. He didn't need to be controlled, Sakura realized. He could go on for much, much longer.

"They're pretty amazing, aren't they?" A voice rolled over Sakura's shoulder. She peered behind her and looked into a pale, symmetrical face, and two profoundly blue eyes.

"Hello there," the girl said. A smile played around her mouth. "When Naruto went on about a girl with pink hair, I admit I thought he was up to his usual crazy exaggerations. But I see he was right – it really is pink."

Sakura tugged on a lock of hair. She felt strangely self-conscious under the girl's gaze and fought the urge to fidget. "Yeah," she said, swallowing against the curl of saliva in her throat. "Nice to meet you. I'm-"

"Sakura Haruno. Believe me, I know. I'm Ino Yamanaka."

"Yamanaka?" The name reminded her faintly of something she read. "That's the mind arts clan, isn't it?"

Ino raised an eyebrow. "I suppose it must seem that way to outsiders. A focus on the mind is what our techniques evolve around, but we deal in various skill lines."

They fell silent for a moment. Sakura watched as Sasuke's kick to the stomach smacked Naruto against the ground.

A hand patted her elbow. "Hey, want to get out of here?" Ino smiled at her.

"Get out of here?" Sakura repeated numbly. "We're in the middle of a lesson. We can't just leave!"

"Sure, we can," Ino said with a shrug. She flashed an amused, toothy smile in Sakura's direction. "We might get in trouble, but Iruka-sensei is a big softie. We'll just tell you that you weren't feeling well, getting adjusted to all of this. Believe me, he'll fall for it. He's got nothing but sympathy for us, especially the civilian kids."

Sakura narrowed her eyes at her. "You just want to use me," she hissed at her.

Ino's smile was full of teeth. "Got me. But you benefit from it too, so I don't see the problem. Come on, we're going to be ninja – we're supposed to be sneaky."

"What about Ami?" Sakura asked. "I mean, she's civilian-born as well. Why don't you take her?"

"I'm asking you," Ino said firmly. She extended a hand and waited.

Sakura stared at her for a moment. Then, slowly, she curled her fingers around Ino's. The girl's smile stretched, but she said nothing, as they turned around and hurried away from the spar.

They stopped by the greenhouses behind the main building. They slipped inside.

"Are we allowed to be here?" Sakura asked as she observed a row of hairy plants she had never seen before. The air was warm and humid in here, and she could feel sweat beads forming on her neck. Ino moved swiftly through the maze of plants.

"Normally, no. You'd need a pass from a teacher. But I'm the Yamanaka heir, and my clan has invested a lot of money in these greenhouses. I've grown up with these plants – I know what I can eat, what I cannot, what heals and what kills. They'd wouldn't dare turn me away."

She had no idea what to make of the girl. She had no idea what to make of any of this. The White Dorm felt familial and homely, and everything about it made her feel wrong-footed. She suspected a trap, a ploy. Less strict and regulated than the Red Dorm – it drew her in. Soon she would grow to like it, grow attached to it, and then she wouldn't want to leave.

She had to remember how she came here. What they had done, ripping her away from her mother, in exchange for some coins. They were slowly brainwashing her. She would not let it happen.

She would leave, one way or another.

"During genjutsu practice, I noticed you had no problem with any of it," Ino said, trailing a finger over a long-stemmed leaf. "I'm skilled at chakra control myself, but it's definitely not on your level. I want to be able to walk on water, and I wondered if you could help me."

"Walk on water?" Sakura stared at her. "I can't walk on water. I've never tried."

Ino hummed. "That's a pity. We can figure that out together then. But you can still help me, especially with applying genjutsu. In exchange, I'll teach about poisons."

When Sakura didn't reply, Ino turned around to face her. "I thought poisons would fit you nicely. I've been observing you, you see, and taijutsu, kenjutsu, and ninjutsu are not your strong suits. Poisons could make you a little more deadly – that way it would only take a little nick."

"Is that why you brought me out here?"

"We can always learn from each other. But no, I brought you out here, because I wanted to skip class and hang out. So what do you say?"

"Sure," Sakura said, and they shared a smile.

They made flower crowns, sitting with their backs to the glass wall. Ino placed a daisy crown on her brow.

"You look very pretty," she said. "Don't let Naruto notice. I'm pretty sure he has a crush on you."

"I hope not," Sakura said, feeling her cheeks colors at the compliment. "I'm not – you know. It's not like that."

"No," Ino agreed easily enough. Her smile stretched and she winked. "Sasuke – that's the one you want."

They dissolved into giggles, and as she laughed, Sakura was reminded of a time before, at her civilian school. Sitting there with Ino, she could almost imagine herself a normal girl, with a normal life, and a home to go return to after a long school day.

The rest of the time was spent with Ino pointing out different flowers and their meanings. Her knowledge was extensive and Sakura clung to every word. There was so much to learn. Mommy had never told her about it. Had never mentioned the healing properties of lavender, had never told Sakura how to harvest plants.

Mommy had never told Sakura much of anything.

They stepped outside into the shallow morning sun. Early morning fog still clung to the trees, the grass still wet with dew.

"I find it interesting that you're already so friendly with Naruto and Sasuke," Ino piped up. She avoided Sakura's questioning gaze and instead stared at the cloudy sky, flaying her split ends with her nails. "They're easily the strongest of our year."

She looked down. Met Sakura's gaze.

"When you walk with giants, do you feel taller too?"

Sakura cast around for words. Wondered what Ino truly was implying. But the other girl was already moving.

"Let's race," she called out and set off in a sprint down the hill, her sandals scuffing up dirt and grass blades.

Sakura followed her. The wind whipped her hair around her face in a flash of pink. It started to rain.

-0

[Snakeskin]

-0

The grounds were eerily silent at night. Sakura moved through the dark, swathed in a heavy brown cloak, a rope resting on her shoulder.

She crept past the bracken and the training ground. In the dimness, she could make out the straw dummies. She tried to listen above the rush of her blood in her ears.

Logic. Her plan. Those were the things she had to rely on. Every action had an outcome. A consequence. She halted by the wall.

She didn't know what alerted her to another presence, but her hatches rose. She threw herself into the shadows, cloaked herself in several layers of genjutsu. Nothing to see here, she thought and had to stifle a hysterical giggle. An owl hooted in the distance.

"Sakura." It was only Ami, standing there in her nightrobe and bare feet, looking out of place.

She released the genjutsu. Stepping forward, she studied her friend's face.

"I knew you'd try something like this," Ami spoke up. She tucked a strand of purple hair behind her ear. "Again."

"What are you talking about?"

"At the other dorm, you were gone all night once. And you stole a kunai."

Sakura met her eyes squarely. Inhale. Exhale. Something inside of her was compressing tighter and tighter. "I don't know what you're going on about, Ami."

"You're a fool," Ami snapped. "Do you think they do not keep records of every weapon? Do you think you were the very first to steal something? Good thing I was a prefer now, wasn't it? I could alter those pretty little records."

Sakura swallowed against the curl of saliva. She thought of the morning after meeting Naruto. Ami had watched her during breakfast, her stare cool, but she had said nothing, remained silent among all those uniform-clad children, either rhythmically chewing with the crusts of sleep still in their eyes, or jumping around, their voices so loud they became intelligible and folded into one, singular din of noise.

"But I can't save you from this. If you cross that wall, if you truly leave, you'll be brought back. And there will be consequences."

"They can't give me a trial," Sakura pointed out. "I'm not a shinobi yet, so it's not defecting. And I'm not an adult."

"There are dangerous men and women out there. You do not want to get on their radar, Sakura. Please, don't do this. _Please._"

Sakura's hand found the coin in her pocket. She curled her fingers around it, the cold scorching her palm. In the distance, thunder rumbled.

"Go back inside, Ami," she said, her tone brooking no argument.

Her friend was silent for a long moment, her chest heaving up and down. Then she nodded. "I hope you're here in the morning," she said and whirled around.

Sakura watched her go. When her silhouette disappeared from sight, she turned back to the wall. She needed to go now before everyone woke up. Before light slipped back into the sky.

Her body wouldn't move. Where would she go? She could not return to her mother. They would find her there and drag her back, and she had no desire to see that woman again. Leave the village then, but she had never set foot outside the walls. She knew nothing about life outside other than the maps she'd memorized. It was dangerous, and she wasn't even a genin yet.

There was so much left to learn. Ways to protect herself. Genjutsu that could render a victim useless, struck dumb. Medical chakra that could heal fractured bones. Poisons that could tear into a person's nervous system. Taijutsu to defend herself. Violent things, but necessary, if she wanted to survive out there.

The thunder was closer now. Sakura shot another glance at the wall and went back inside.

-0

[Snakeskin]

-0

When Ami saw her sitting next to Naruto that morning at breakfast, she didn't reacter beyond a simple nod in her direction. Sakura nodded back and folded her hands under her chin.

"Hey, Sakura," Naruto piped up. He beamed at her. "Want to hang out during the holiday? We can get ice cream."

"Holiday?" Sakura repeated. Her gaze flickered from Naruto to Sasuke, who gave a noncommital hum.

"Yeah," Naruto said. "We get to go home for two weeks. Didn't Iruka-sensei tell you that?"

"No," Sakura forced the word past numb lips. She balled her hands. Why hadn't she left last night? She didn't want to see that woman again. Didn't want to see what those monthly allowances had brought her. _I didn't know they would take you today. _

Naruto chattered on about finally getting ramen again in her ear, but Sakura found she couldn't focus on his cheerful monologue. The sound was static in her ears. She wanted to flee upstairs and hide away in her room, never to come out. She nursed a few fantasies in her head where she used her newfound skills to intimidate her mother, and each one was better than the last. But none of them stifled the panic in her chest at the thought of actually meeting her again.

"You alright?" Sasuke's voice snapped her out of her reverie.

"Y-Yeah," Sakura said, for he was staring at her with an expression she had never seen before. "I just don't want to return."

"Huh? Why not?" Naruto's eyes were wide and lamplike.

"My mom and I don't have a good relationship," she said firmly and hoped that would stall their questions.

"That's terrible, Sakura-chan!" Naruto said. He slammed a hand on the table and half-rose from his chair. "Why don't you come home with me? It will be like a sleepover."

"No, no, I couldn't impose on your parents like that-" Sakura started, but Naruto grabbed her by the hands. He squeezed her fingers.

"They wouldn't mind! They like to meet my friends. I mean, they like Sasuke, and you're one hell of an upgrade."

"Shut up, dobe." Sasuke's glare was hot and angry.

"Well, if you're sure..." Sakura said. She sent them a grateful smile.

"Of course," Naruto said, firm and decisive. "It will be fun. We can all hang out. Right, Sasuke?"

Sasuke nodded. "You could meet Itachi," he said slowly, almost hesitant. She felt her chest warm. Every time Sasuke spoke about his brother, an awed look entered his eyes. She watched how a flush spread up his neck.

"Thank you," she said. Perhaps she wasn't nearly as alone as she thought.

-0

[Snakeskin]

-0

Soft tufts of cottonwood drifted in between them, accumulated in the strands of their hair. Sakura watched them from the corner of her eye. The dry glare of the sun glimpsed off them.

She dug the noses of her boots into the gravel, scuffed up the dirt of the road, as Naruto and Sasuke walked ahead of her, side by side. Both clad in black trousers and a woolly shirt, while Sakura still had her uniform on; the fishnet sleeves tickled her elbows, and the stiff fabric of her skirt clung to her sweaty thighs. She felt out of place, even though she had walked this Konoha road a million times before. _With Mommy. _

The thought of her mother made her throat constrict. She had been at the Academy for almost a year now. It felt longer. As they passed dusty shop windows, Sakura studied her reflection's face; it had matured a bit, lost some of the baby chub in the cheeks, but she looked mostly the same.

Her hair was shorter, fell to her shoulders, instead of her hips, but the sight of it now gave her a vindictive pleasure. _Yours is the prettiest pink in the world,_ Mommy used to say. Now it was chopped off, cropped and short. A different Sakura.

She prodded herself to walk quicker. With one hand she snagged Sasuke by the shoulder, who frowned in annoyance at her, as if the force of her grip was somehow painful, and she slung an arm around Naruto. He felt warm and familiar, and at once she felt better.

"We're almost there," Naruto said, and he gestured to the houses around them. She let her gaze roam over the roofs, where a few chuunins rested. Smoke billowed above their forms. "I'm sure my parents won't mind that you're staying over."

Naruto's expression was kind, almost oblivious, but the words felt like a blow. _I have nowhere else to go,_ she wanted to tell him. _This is not a kindness, it is a necessity. _But she wouldn't, couldn't, say that. Both her boys had chosen this life, had known what they were getting into, the moment they stepped onto the terrain of the Academy.

They halted in front of a wide house, with ivy dangling off the white walls. "Wanna see if we can sneak inside?" Naruto asked, but he was looking at Sasuke, instead of her, a grin tugged into his whiskered cheek. They had clearly done this before.

"Last time we did that, we almost broke that vase Kushina got from Mito, and my father was cross with me for a week," Sasuke said dryly, but the glint in his eye spoke of his approval.

"Maybe you can distract them, Sakura-chan!" Naruto smiled winningly at her, and she could only blink in confusion. "A pretty girl, all alone – that will tug on their heartstrings. And we'll sneak in from the back!"

"Naruto, I don't think that's a good idea." She had no idea who these people were. But Naruto was already moving; he knocked loudly on the door, snagged Sasuke by the wrist, and vanished into the bushes.

Sakura swallowed harshly but forced herself to stand still. There were noises inside – maundering voices and the onset of approaching footsteps.

The door opened to reveal a chiseled, handsome face, with a head full of blonde wisps.

"H-Hi," she said before he could speak. His curious gaze roamed over her face and focused on her uniform. "Naruto sent me here."

"Aah," his father said, for she could plainly see their relationship in the color of his hair and his eyes, "so you're the distraction then? You better come inside – the boys will be awhile. Kushina booby-trapped the backyard."

"Oh," Sakura said dumbly and stepped past him into the hallway. He smiled widely at her and led her into the living room, where four pairs of eyes settled on her.

Two women were seated by the window, clapping their hands together. The one with long red hair resembled Naruto's face almost perfectly. She threw her head back and cackled loudly.

The woman beside her had a delicate face reminiscent of Sasuke. "I wonder if they'll set off the smoke bombs." There was a dark amusement in her voice that belied the mildly curious expression on her face.

Sakura glanced out the window. Sasuke was dangling from a poplar branch, upside down with leaves in his hair, and an expression on his face that promised murder. Naruto ran across the yard, soaked in purple paint, to avoid a set of incoming green paintballs.

"Fortunately for you, you weren't as foolish as them," a voice mused. A boy, older than her by a few years and with Sasuke's hair and eyes, nodded at her from the couch. Sasuke's brother then – Itachi.

She could see why Sasuke talked about him so much; he couldn't have been older than sixteen, but already there was a chuunin vest covering his shoulders.

"I- well -" Sakura cast around for words. "Naruto told me to wait."

"And who might you be?" Naruto's mother turned her face to her.

"A friend," she said. She folded herself in a bow. "Sakura Haruno, at your service. Naruto told me I could stay over.

"Did he now?" There was a musing quality to her voice. A flash of panic had Sakura's heartbeat rising; she had no idea where to go if she wasn't welcome here.

Naruto's mother rose from her chair in one fluent movement. Her dress swished and rustled around her. She looked the very picture of a domestic wife, in her long dress and white apron, but Sakura could see the strong muscles and tendons in her forearms moving, as she lay a hand on her shoulder.

"A friend of my son is always welcome here," she said warmly, and then turned slightly to glare at her husband, who was idling in the doorway. "Minato. I can't believe you haven't even offered her some tea yet. Just what kind of a host are you?"

"K-Kushina," Naruto's father stuttered, and one look at his wife's murderous expression had him fleeing into the kitchen.

"Itachi-san," the red-headed woman said with a sigh. "Would you go after him and make sure he doesn't burn the kitchen down?"

Kushina whirled around and snagged Sakura by the shoulders. "A girl in the house," she said, eyes bright. "We're going to have so much fun! And such a cutie too, right Mikoto?"

"Absolutely." Sasuke's mother rose from her chair and approached her with a graceful gait. "How delightful to meet you, Sakura. So you're the girl Sasuke is always talking about in his letters."

She wondered what Sasuke of all people would say about her, but she couldn't think about it for long, as Naruto and Sasuke came into the living room, dripping paint all over the floor

Kushina threw her head back with a mighty cackle at the sight. Mikoto hid her smile behind her hand.

"Good one, mom," Naruto said, with a beaming grin of his own. Even his teeth were colored purple, Sakura noticed. By his side, Sasuke glared.

Standing there, with Kushina's hand still warm on her shoulder, while laughter erupted around her, Sakura started to relax a bit. To feel like this was home.

Maybe for a little while, it could be.

-0

[Snakeskin]

-0

Staying at Naruto's house was entering an entirely different world.

Kushina and Minato were boisterous, excited, and utterly brilliant. They liked littering every surface of their house with sealing papers, and chakra diagrams, and didn't seem mad, or even annoyed, when Naruto scattered his training supplies over the kitchen table, or when he sniped back.

At least three nights a week were dedicated to ramen, with Naruto and his mother competing in an eating match, while Minato simply watched them contently, sipping his green tea with a distant, happy look in his eye.

"I'm sorry, Sakura-chan," he piped up one night during the second week of her stay. "We eat an awful lot of ramen here, and I've just realized we never asked what you prefer."

Naruto whirled his head in her direction. "Sakura! You love ramen, right? Please, don't be like teme – please, pretty please. I can't deal with another ramen-hater on my team."

Sakura heaved one shoulder, feeling self-conscious as three pairs of gazes settled on her form. She tightened her hand around her chopsticks and watched her fishcake float around. "We're not a team yet."

"It's alright if you don't like it," Kushina piped up. She dropped a hand on Naruto's head when he let out a hiss in protest and sent her son a quelling look. "We want you to feel right at home here. Tell us what dishes you prefer."

_Hom_e. She hadn't been home for a long time. Maybe that was alright. She liked going to breakfast in the canteen hall at the Academy, stuffed between Sasuke and Naruto, the former who was still wiping the sleep out of his eyes, while the latter bounced around, chattering on and off about training they had that day. Ino sending a smirk during flower arrangement lessons.

Or Ami, who smiled at her from across the courtyard, heaving her kunai higher in a challenge. Sometimes she caught glimpses of red hair across the fence as well, and she'd imagine what Fuki was up to. What kind of team she would be sorted into.

"It's fine." Sakura ducked her head. "I like ramen." Sort of. Maybe once in a while. Certainly not almost every day. But she had to be thankful. They had taken her in, housed her, even when they weren't obligated to. She needed to be grateful.

Minato hummed. He sounded strangely disappointed. "Well, let us know if there's something you want to eat."

"It's fine," she repeated. "Thank you very much."

Sleeping at Naruto's house was strange too. They slept side by side on their futons, and sometimes Sakura would wake to find her friend's palm in hers.

"Sakura," Naruto said one night when they were lying side by side on their futon, their chins resting on their wrists.

Moonlight filtered through the window and in the darkness she could just make out her friend's silhouette; the spikiness of his hair, the points of his ears, the slight gleam of blue in his irises. There was something unfamiliar about this room, with its carpeted floor, its high windows, the swish of the stiff blue curtains. Something unfamilia_r_ about him, about him _in_ this room.

"Aren't you scared to graduate?" His voice was breathless.

"A bit." Sakura rolled onto her back and stared up at the ceiling. "I'm scared to change. And we could die."

"I want us to be on the same team," Naruto murmured. "With Sasuke. We'd be a good team."

"Me too," she whispered, but she wasn't certain she was being truthful. She wasn't staying here, after all. Once she knew enough, once she was strong enough, she would leave. She would be free.

Naruto seemed to sense her ambiguous feelings, for he frowned at her. "I'm glad you're staying over. My parents really like you too," he said, after a long silence.

She hummed. They seemed the type to like anybody. Like Naruto, they were overly friendly. "It's kind of them to let me stay."

Naruto's hand found her own. His palm was warm and clammy. She stared at the light blue bruising around his knuckles. "Will you tell me why you didn't want to go home?"

Sakura stilled and held her breath. "Not yet, Naruto," she finally said, squeezing his hand. "Maybe someday. But not now. Not yet."

"Okay."

Her friend's easy acceptance had her breath leaving her in one great rush. She felt her eyes burn and something wet trickled down her cheek. She pressed her fist against her jaw, and bit down, until she could feel the skin burst apart, like fruit pulp.

"Sakura." Warm arms folded around her. Naruto's chin settled against her scalp. They lay like that until her breathing evened out.

-0

[Snakeskin]

-0

They were standing by the jewelry vendor, Naruto holding up a glittering dog tag, when Sakura spotted her.

She came out of a greengrocery, the colored sky stretched behind her, her face a shadow. But Sakura recognized her dress; deep green, with white lace on the bottom, a beige poncho thrown over her slender shoulders.

She was staring down into her reed basket, while a bald man, whom Sakura had never seen before, idled beside her. Then she looked up, and a ray of golden sunlight edged up her face. It took Sakura's breath away.

Naruto nudged her in the side, but she couldn't turn to look. Her body was locked in place. Frozen. Paralyzed.

Naruto prodded her again. "Do you think we should buy one for Sasuke too?" The sun was lancing off his shoulders. "That way we'll be a real team."

"Sakura?"

"Y-Yeah. Sure." Her voice sounded distant to her ears, and she didn't miss the frown Naruto sent her way.

"Sakura?" Her mother's voice rolled over her shoulder. Sakura turned slightly, and saw that her mother was only standing a few feet away, with one hand pressed against her sternum. Her face blanched under a healthy summer tan, her body dipped in gold as the sun set behind her.

"Mom."

Naruto gasped audibly beside her, and from the corner of the eye, she noticed Minato and Kushina turning away from their conversation with the merchant.

"Bit of a surprise to see me here, isn't it?" Sakura said. She sounded petulant and bitter, but she couldn't push her rage down. There was bile at the back of her throat, and something in her stomach churned like a nest of vipers.

Her mother sputtered, eyes flickering from side to side, as she seemed to cast around for words. The man beside her cleared his throat, and asked, "Is this your daughter, Mebuki? She has your nose."

"Yes, I am," Sakura spat, and flashed a bitter grin in his direction. "And who might you be?"

He tilted his head. "A friend."

"S-Sakura," her mother said, and then fell silent as if she was at a loss of words. "You look different."

Sakura tugged on her hair and held up a strand to the light. The pink seemed even brighter in the sunlight. "They chopped it all off," she said, studying her mother's expression. "A shame isn't it? Tell me, how are you enjoying your new income?"

Mommy swallowed and raked a hand through her white locks. "They said – Sakura, you need to understand -". She fell silent, gaze roaming over Sakura's face. Her fingers dug into the stiff fabric of her dress. Twisted.

"I didn't know they would take you like that." Mommy's eyes glittered with moisture. "Not like that. Not so violent, and sudden. I thought that I could explain it to you, that you'd understand, but I never got the chance. Sakura, you need to believe me-"

"I don't need to do anything." She shifted and brought her hand up to rest on her weapon pouch. The familiar shape of the shuriken and the scorching sting of the cold metal grounded her.

"Perhaps it's better if you go, Haruno." Minato's voice rolled over her shoulder.

Recognition flashed over her mother's face. She nodded. "Take care of her. Please," she added, looking past Sakura.

She turned around and dragged the bald man with her. Sakura watched her go and dug her canines into her lower lip.

She tasted blood.

-0

[Snakeskin]

-0

The party was too loud; she wanted to hide away in the shadows, retreat to the safety of Naruto's room, crack open a book or two, or crawl under the covers. Looking out over the yard, with glowing lampions strung up, where an assembly of Naruto's friends and their parents chatted and munched on meat from the barbecue, she realized there was no way that she could excuse herself politely.

"Sakura!" Naruto said, with a winning smile. He grabbed her by the shoulder. "I almost thought you weren't coming."

Sakura ducked her head and tried to pat some of the folds out of her dress. It was a light blue, something that Kushina had gleefully picked out for her.

"Naruto never lets me dress him," she'd said. "He dislikes anything that isn't orange. You're not that difficult, are you, Sakura-chan?"

The vague threat in her voice had Sakura nodding quickly and she'd been stuffed in a light blue dress with a lace collar. Kushina was scary, when she wanted to be.

"Where do I put Kushina's present?" she asked, as she followed Naruto into the garden. She had brought Naruto's mother a new calligraphy set for her sealings.

"Over there, on the table. Can I get you a drink? Some pork?"

"No, thanks."

"Oh, you sure? Have you spotted Sasuke yet? I-" Whatever Naruto was about to say, was interrupted by a voice calling his name. A boy with curly brown hair that Sakura had never seen before waved at him.

Naruto held up a finger. "One moment, Sakura-chan."

She waited for a while, watching the crowd. When she was certain Naruto had forgotten about her or was whisked off into another conversation, she approached Minato who stood under the eaves and tapped on his elbow.

"Sorry to bother you," she said, wilting a bit as both Minato's gaze and his conversation partner's settled on her. The man was vaguely familiar, with a spiky black ponytail and various scars covering his face. "Is it alright if I take a walk around the neighborhood?"

Minato's eyebrows drew together. "I'm not sure that would be safe, Sakura-chan."

"Please. I have my weapon pouch." She patted her thigh.

"Alright then," he said, though he still sounded hesitant. "Don't stay out too long, alright?"

She nodded and slipped away from the party. Outside, she felt her genjutsu slide over her like a second skin, cloaking her in shadows.

The crisp evening air bit at her face. It was nice to be away, she thought, nice to be alone for a while. Her legs brought her onto a familiar road. She looked at the houses she'd seen so frequently growing up.

Pink carnations by the door. A pebble path leading up to it. Sakura picked the lock and slipped into the hallway. Silence slunk around her like a predator, stifling and dangerous. She let the genjutsu slide off her.

The house was dark and silent. She stopped by the living room, surveyed her father's shrine and the couch she'd always sat on. The kitchen, with its table where she used to do her homework. "Good work," Mommy used to praise her. "So smart and hardworking. You'll surpass them all."

She walked upstairs. Her bedroom was the same as she left it. Her bed was made up, a book lay open on her desk. A faint layer of dust over all of her furniture, as if someone had simply closed the door and shut it out. Shut her out.

Her legs took her to her parents' bedroom. There, coiled in her sheets, lay her mother. Her white hair peeked out from under the covers. Her chest moved up and down, a peaceful, even rhythm.

Sakura didn't bother to be quiet. She threw the door further open, ignored the squeaking hinges. Her mother's eyes snapped open and she pushed herself up, whipping her head around the room. When she spotted Sakura, she seemed to sag in on herself, some kind of defeat lining her limbs.

"Mommy," Sakura said.

"Please," her mother said. "I-I can explain. Please, Sakura."

"Then do so." She dragged the stool from the vanity towards the bed. Plopped down on it. "Go on."

Her mother swallowed audibly. "I had no choice. You have to understand. After your father died, I suddenly was alone. I had no one and I had to take care of you."

"Dad died years ago," Sakura said. She could make out her mother's glistening eyes in the dark. With her white hair loose and cascading down her shoulders, and clad in nothing but a fraying night robe, she looked rather fragile.

"I didn't want this," her mother said softly. Sakura had to strain her ears to hear her. "I never wanted a child. You were his and you looked so much like him. And – and I never wanted you."

The sound of heavy breathing filled the room. Sakura swallowed and pushed down the urge to cry. She needed to hear this.

"And the money – the money – your father was always the one to take care of it. After he died, we lived off saving after saving. I didn't know what to do."

"You could have gotten a job," Sakura sneered. "If you truly wanted to." Something clicked in her brain - the image of the bald man. "You got someone else now, don't you? Someone who takes care of all the financial matters?"

She couldn't keep the disdain and disgust out of her voice. Even in the dark, her mother's flushed face was easy to make out.

"I just wanted to start over. Is that a crime, Sakura? I didn't know it would go like this. I thought I could ease you into it, that you'd go off your own accord. But then they came and well – you know."

"I do," Sakura said. She thought of the fear she felt while the stranger chopped off strand after strand.

"I did love you, Sakura," her mother pleaded, after a long bout of silence. "I do love you."

"But not enough."

A sob. A wet sniff. "Maybe," her mother agreed. "Maybe not enough."

Sakura's chest grew cold. She rose from her stool and set it back by the vanity. In the mirror, her reflection furrowed its brows.

"What are you going to do, Sakura? Why have you come?" her mother asked, and there was a fear in her voice that made Sakura realize her mother knew what was about to happen.

"You're going to die now, Mommy," she said and placed the genjutsu.

Her mother sagged back onto her bed, her limp arms bouncing off the mattress. Her eyes drifted closed.

Sakura tucked her back in. Placed a strand of hair behind her ear. Kissed her cheek.

"Goodbye, Mommy," she said, placing two fingers above her heart. The medical chakra she sent down disrupted the electrical signals between the SA and AV node. Her mother's breathing stopped and she lay still.

Sakura pushed back her tears. She went back down the stairs, into the night.

-0

[Snakeskin]

-0

Phew. It's done.

I'm sorry this took months – yes, months – to make. I wrote multiple scenes, but somehow I couldn't get it into a coherent storyline and everything just seemed to run away from me. I hope this chapter was satisfying and that it showed Sakura's inner struggle.

There are a lot of new players in this chapter. Some of them are bound to be OOC, with it being an AU and all. Still, hopefully, it's up to your tastes.


	3. Chapter 3

**Snakeskin**

Sometimes you can't remain the prey. Orochimaru succeeded in becoming Hokage and revolutionized the Academy. Konoha comes for Sakura one day, armed with doctrine and regulations. Thrust in a world where blood and power rule, she will need to adapt and swallow her hate, if she wants to stay alive. One way or another, Sakura will claw her way up to freedom. AU!

-0

[Snakeskin]

-0

The rest of the summer passed swiftly. Sakura tried not to think about what transpired that night, although she awoke with her heart hammering in her chest and her blood pounding through her ventricles more often than not. She lay awake, staring at the ceiling, listening to Naruto's even breaths and the rustling of the leaves outside. During the day, there was enough to keep her occupied, what with Naruto's family crowding around her. She liked it here, but she was also aware of Minato's deep blue stare and Kushina's pointed curiosity, and knew she had to be careful.

Sakura awoke late one muggy morning, after staying up to read, and when she came downstairs, she stumbled across Kushina and Naruto in the garden. They were sitting on two plush cushions in the garden, and a breeze ruffled their hair.

"You must mold your chakra," Kushina was saying. "Do so carefully – do not lose control over it or expel it. Mold it in your core and coils."

She popped one eye open to eye Sakura, as if she'd known she'd been there all along. "Why don't you come join us, Sakura?"

"What are you doing?" she asked, kneeling down next to Naruto. The gravel bit into her knees, but she kept herself still.

"Mom's training me," Naruto piped up, abandoning his concentration completely to beam at her. The sunlight lanced off his hair. "I'm going to make chains."

"Armantine chains," Kushina explained, at Sakura's confused look. "They can be used to bind and nullify chakra."

"Is that something I could learn?" Sakura asked. Chains could come in handy; it would be something she could add to her style, which mostly depended on speed and surprise. She wasn't a taijutsu expert, like Ami, and she would never have the chakra reserves to be a ninjutsu specialist. She needed every help she could get.

"Unfortunately, no," Kushina said. "It's something unique to the Uzumaki clan. It requires our chakra."

But Sakura was already thinking of implementing it into her style. Not chains, perhaps, but something less sturdy and more flexible – something like wires. They were mostly used for traps, but what if she could use it during a fight and bind her opponent. It wouldn't have to hold for long – just long enough to deliver the finishing blow.

"But there's no reason why we can't work on something that might suit you," Kushina said. She rose to her feet and swept a few blades of grass from her skirt. "Naruto, close your eyes and get back to work. I want to see some progress. Sakura, come with me."

She led her towards the end of the yard, where they halted before an ivy covered wall. "Naruto told me your talent lies in chakra control." Her eyes roamed over Sakura's face.

"That's my highest mark, yes," Sakura said.

"Then this will suit you. Watch me carefully." Kushina placed a sandal-clad foot onto the stone, and then lifted the other one. She was hanging horizontally off the wall and laughed when she saw Sakura's startled face. "It's not easy," she said, as she walked up the wall and down again. "In fact, it's notoriously difficult – there's a reason they only teach you it after you've become Genin. So don't be put out if it doesn't work." The wind tossed a few strands of bright red hair into her eyes. "I'm going to check on Naruto. Good luck."

After Kushina left, Sakura stared at the wall for a good solid minute. Then, slowly, she lifted her foot and placed it between the ivy. The leaves tickled her ankles. She took a moment to close her eyes and find her chakra; she could feel its warmth steadily trickling through her coils. She sent it to her foot and when she found it kept steady, she lifted the other one onto the wall.

A breathless laugh escaped her. She went further up the wall, staring up at the cerulean sky. There was something magical about hanging from the wall, suspended by the strength of her own chakra. She propped herself up on the edge, and wanted to shout to Kushina and Naruto that she'd done it, but the sight of them made the words die in her throat.

Kushina was bent over Naruto, who sat cross-legged on the ground, and she swept a strand of hair behind his ear. The smile on her face was soft and gentle. Sakura dug her nails into her palms. Her eyes burned.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled suddenly, jumping up, his eyes wide. "Look at you!"

"You did it!" Kushina beamed. "That's amazing," she continued, as they approached and Sakura made her way down. "You're a natural."

Sakura flushed. "It's nothing. The chains are more impressive," she said to a grinning Naruto.

"You too are both impressive," Kushina said firmly. "Let's go inside to celebrate, eh? I'm sure we can raid Minato's cookies tin."

As they went inside, Naruto's warm hand in her own, and Kushina's arm slung around her shoulders, there was a strange warmth in her chest. And she didn't mind it one bit.

-0

[Snakeskin]

-0

The news of her mother's death reached her a week after her return to the Academy, and it swept through the school like wildfire. Nagisa came to deliver the telegram; she stepped into the classroom during a flower arrangement lesson and all but dragged Sakura to Iruka's office.

His office was a small room at the back of the Main building, the air warm and muggy. His windows were closed, and the sunlight drew harsh, white lines on the floor, as it came through the blinds.

"You will want to arrange the funeral yourself, I'm sure," Nagisa said, twisting the stiff fabric of her long skirt with her fingers. She dug her nails into the cotton. "Say your goodbyes and all that."

"Yes." Sakura forced herself to respond. She was glad that Iruka had offered her a chair when she came in, because her knees seemed traitorously weak. She drew air into her lungs, but she couldn't push it out. The room seemed to sway around her, the grip of vertigo. "Yes, please, thank you."

"I'll allow you two weeks off." Nagisa pursed her lips, and stared out the window at the darkened curve of the hills, fresh with yellow dandelions.

"Will you need help, Sakura-chan, with the funeral?" Iruka had moved from his place by the door and now lay a hand on her shoulder, which made her start. Her breathing stocked in her throat. The room seemed to swell and deflate again. "Such a thing is hard enough on its own, but especially tragic for someone as young as you."

"Especially when it is so unexpected," Nagisa piped up. Her bracelets clattered.

Sakura's blood pounded through her ventricles. For a moment, she thought the woman knew. That she had lured Sakura into the privacy of the office to do unspeakable things to her. But Nagisa wasn't gazing at her with contempt and barely contained disgust, and Iruka-sensei wasn't holding her down in her chair in a vice-like grip. Instead, they both seemed rather kind – or as kind as a woman like Nagisa could be. But, she reminded herself, a cold fear gripping her heart, they were ninja. Perhaps this was a pretense, a sheep skin, and they would soon show their true colors – would soon drag her to a damp cell somewhere under the Hokage mountain, where she would starve and rot.

"She passed in her sleep," Iruka said. He regarded her silently, his thumb rubbing cotton circles on her shoulder. "Cardiac arrest most likely. She wasn't in pain, Sakura."

She knew. She had made sure of that, the nights before her mother's death. She had burrowed her nose in medical books, with such a new, fervent motivation that Naruto had laughingly called her a bookworm. It had to be quick, clean and painless. Untraceable. No one could know the truth.

Unbidden, tears sprung to her eyes and she didn't try to hide them. It was better if they saw her mourn. This – at the very least – she didn't have to fake or hide.

While Iruka gave her a tissue and clutched her even tighter, his concern an almost tangible thing, Nagisa turned away from the window.

"Civilians are weak," she said. "Whether we like it or not, this is the condition of living."

Iruka made a noncommittal noise behind her, but Sakura paid it no attention. She couldn't hide the clenching of her hands around her armchair, but she could stop her anger from showing on her face. Had I done that to you, she thought, remembering her fingers against her mother's rib cage, you'd be dead, ninja or not.

"Grief is a strange thing," the woman said, drawing her attention back to her face. "It has the tendency to linger. Don't hesitate to reach out if you're unable to move on. I am lenient, but I cannot abide any effects on your performance. Is that clear?"

"As a bell," Sakura murmured. Her words rang hollow and flat.

Nagisa's face twisted and it seemed like she was about to say more, but then a bell buzzed and she heard children spill out into the hallways.

"Two weeks," the woman reminded her, and then brushing past Iruka and her, "and my condolences."

When the door fell shut behind her, Sakura breathed a little easier. Iruka, too, seemed changed by the lack of her presence; his shoulder sagged a little, as if some unnamed tension finally fell away.

"Well," he began, as he turned towards her, "I might come to regret this, but I'm going to give you the exact opposite of her advice; do not focus on school right now. Your grades can take a hit, and you're a responsible young woman – you will be just fine. I want you to go home and grieve and take your time for that. That's what I neglected to do, when it happened to me."

Sakura didn't like the weary set of his shoulders, as he said that, nor the defeated look in his eyes. But then he straightened, his face blank again, and gestured to the door. "There are friends waiting for you outside."

She didn't ask how he knew, when she hadn't heard or sensed a thing. It spoke of another height not yet reached, another thing she had to learn.

She came face to face with Ami and Ino, when she stepped out the door. Both her friends were twitching on the soles of their feet, their hands closing and re-opening. When they spotted Sakura, they snapped to attention.

"Want to talk about it?" Ami asked, moving so closely that she could feel the glow of her body heat.

Sakura shook her head. She had no idea what to say.

"We're going to have a girls night," Ino announced firmly, and linked their arms together.

"Ino," Iruka-sensei began, and Sakura started – she had forgotten the man was still there. "Sakura is in a delicate state of mind right now and I'm not sure that's the best-"

"I know," Ino snapped. She sounded almost indignant. "I saw the telegram. Let me tell you one thing, Sensei: you know a lot about ninja arts and education and all that, but I'm telling you you know nothing about girls. Sakura needs nail polish right now, and that's that."

"And a movie," Ami piped up, smiling when Sakura glanced at her.

"And gossip," Ino said. "Lots of gossip."

She tugged the two of them with her, and left a flabbergasted Iruka in her wake, who only waved weakly in response.

Once they reached Sakura's room, and positioned themselves on her bed, Ino's bravado seemed to seep out of her.

"We don't have to, y'know. I thought you'd might like it – some distraction. But it's fine if you don't."

"We're here if you want to talk," Ami added. She raised over and placed a warm, comforting hand on Sakura's knees.

"Thanks," she said, meaning it. If her smile was a little wobbly, no one mentioned it. "But I think girls night sounds great for now. Maybe I'll want to talk later, but not now. If that's alright?"

"Of course," Ino said at once. "What do you think, Ami - blue nailpolish?"

"Maybe orange." Ami gave her a considering look. "For her new boyfriend."

"Not you too!" Sakura exclaimed in dismay.

As they laughed, she felt something uncurl in her chest – something that had been tightly wound. Perhaps, given time, everything would be alright. Even if her mother was dead.

Even if she was a criminal and a killer.

-0

[Snakeskin]

-0

The next morning it was Kurenai who waited by the staircase to bring her home. The early morning air was crisp against her skin and Sakura shivered, even clad as she was in a thick brown cloak. She was glad that nobody was up yet, as she knew she wouldn't be able to bear any questions.

Naruto had come by last night, followed by a silent, but watchful Sasuke. Ino had sent them away, thankfully, though they didn't go quietly. Sakura liked Naruto. Had liked his parents and his house, and the easy acceptance at letting Sakura into their lives for just a brief moment. But she had wanted to forget for a little while, forget for as long as she could.

When they stopped in front of Sakura's former house, Kurenai turned to her.

"I feel bad about leaving you here like this," the woman said, "Do you want me to stay?"

Sakura shook her head. She liked Kurenai, but she hadn't forgotten that the woman had been of no help when she'd come to her. When she'd mentioned that she'd been kidnapped.

"Alright then." Kurenai sighed, as if she had expected the answer. "Our training session is in two days – is that still going through?"

Sakura nodded. She wasn't about to refrain from any training, no matter what Iruka-sensei said. She couldn't be behind when she returned to the Academy.

The house was lush and quiet. She went into the living room. "Hi, dad," she told her father's picture - the waxy bulby nose, with little red veins, the spiky red hair. Standing there, in perfect silence, while shadows crept over the wall with the sunrise, a loneliness she hadn't known before took hold of her.

"I'm an orphan now." She hadn't thought of it before, but now it was there, right in front of her. Her, the last of the Haruno Clan, the last of her family.

Her hands moved on their own. She knew it wasn't healthy, that this was precisely what Kurenai warned her of. "Mixing reality with imagination," she had said during one of their sessions. A breeze played with her long dark locks. "It is a dangerous thing. Confuse others with it, but never lie to yourself. You'll only lose yourself to it."

When her parents flared alive, Sakura only smiled. Her father came to stand beside her, towering over her, and she hadn't realized how much she'd missed his grin. A palm against her shoulder revealed her mother – the one from her memories, smelling of cookie dough and full of dimpled smiles. Not the ghost of a woman she found in her bed, that she had killed.

"Kurenai-sensei will be cross with me, I think," she told them.

"We're only here for a little while," her father said, and if his voice sounded a little off, more like a mixture of her male teachers than she'd like to admit, that was alright. He had been dead for so many years; it was only natural that she forgot some of the details.

"To keep you company," her mother shrugged.

"Right." Sakura clapped her hands. She glanced at her mother. "I need paperwork; bank statements, life insurances – that sort of thing. Where did you keep them?"

But for all the genjutsu resembled Mommy, she didn't have her memories. But that was alright, Sakura told herself firmly. Her mother was never a good parent anyway. Sakura would raise them up, would better them in every way. And in time, it would not matter what was real or not.

Her smile was cold – a little wide, with too much teeth. "Let's go search."

-0

[Snakeskin]

-0

Mommy's funeral passed quietly on a rainy afternoon.

Sakura had invited her neighbors, and various girlfriends she knew her mother had. Most of them were parents of her former civilian classmates, and they kept pinching her cheek, saying, "Poor girl, will you be alright?"

No matter how often she repeated that she'd be fine, given time, the concerned look in their eyes stayed, sometimes even intensified. For all their concern, and their obvious pity, she was glad when they took their leave.

There was one among the group who she hadn't invited and that was the bald man she'd seen with her mother – her new lover. He was waiting for her by the tree line, watching from afar. When the girlfriends clustered together and disappeared out of sight, he came to stand next to her.

"What are you doing here?" Sakura wanted to ask, for Mommy was hers alone, and she didn't a parasitic intruder that would bring back all the bad memories about her. But the lost look in his eyes was familiar and she closed her mouth again.

He didn't look at her. "I know I'm not supposed to be here," he began, gaze sweeping over the freshly dug earth. "I just need a moment. This is so unexpected."

She knew she ought to offer sympathy, but she was too drained to say anything. Instead they stood side by side, the crisp air biting at their faces.

"How long were you together?" she said finally, after a long bout of silence. He glanced at her and she saw that his eyes were a warm dark brown. His face broad, with a strong jawline and a bulging brow.

"Six, seven months." His voice sounded choked.

"You knew of me? That she had a daughter?"

He nodded. "She mentioned it. I knew she sent you away. Respectable profession, shinobi."

"What's your job then?" she asked, choosing to ignore the first half of his sentence.

"I'm a jeweler," the man said with a careless shrug. He sent a weak grin at her. "My shop is at the corner of your street. You must have seen it."

"Takara's shop!" Sakura exclaimed. She had passed the store everyday on her way to school. Had pressed her nose up to the window to see the rows of golden bracelets, and the silver pendants hanging from the ceiling. "Mommy brought me a ring there once for my birthday!"

"All that glitters is gold," Takara said, "Your mother came to see what her jewels were worth and that's – well, that's how we met."

"Wait," she said, and fished in her pocket. When she felt the familiar, but cold shape of the token, she hesitated. She had no idea what the coin meant, and no idea where her mother's lover's loyalties lay. But, she told herself, she had to know who was watching her. Takara was a civilian; it was unlikely that he had anything to do with it.

She held the token up, and watched it glitter silver in the sun. "I got this," she explained, "but I have no idea who made it or what it stands for. Have you been commissioned something like this?"

Takara took it from her and turned it around in his finger. "The engravings are superb," he muttered. "But no, I didn't make this. It is a pretty thing, but ultimately useless, I'm afraid."

"What about the engravings? What do they mean?"

"They are not so unusual," Takara said, with a shrug. "Konoha's symbol, for loyalty. And a tree – perhaps a reference to the Village of the Leaves, or a reminder of strength. A tree is strong and unmoving, after all, and its roots reach deep."

Sakura hummed. "Perhaps," she said. She couldn't shake the feeling that she was missing something vital.

-0

[Snakeskin]

-0

She was sitting at the kitchen table, when she felt it. The slightest tremor along her spine, the rise of her neck hair.

Sakura kept her gaze on her text, kept reading as if nothing was amiss. Then, barely able to hide the tremble in her fingers, she stretched her arms above her head, and angled her face towards the window. The dim orange light from her kitchen lamp didn't penetrate far and she found herself looking at a wall of black.

"Trust your instincts," her teachers had said. "Always trust your gut."

It was just the dark, she told herself, as she forced herself up from her chair. Just the dark, coupled with exhaustion and grief. Those things were not good for the mind.

When the curtains were closed, she felt a little better, but she couldn't shake the feeling of eyes on her helpless shoulder blades. She padded her thigh for her weapon pouch, but didn't find it there. She had left it upstairs, in her bedroom.

The faintest of thuds came from the stairs. Sakura forced herself up from her chair, and crept towards the hallway and climbed the carpeted stairs. She stood in silence for a moment at the top, her hair tickling her cheek, and let her gaze flicker over the walls. Her bedroom's door was open and she was fairly certain she left it closed.

Slowly, ready to bolt, she grazed her fingertips over the wood, and pushed.

The door swung open. Her bedroom was dark. The lamp of the hallway cast dim, orange light over her desk, where _Brain Physiology_ and _Tenketsu anatomy_ lay open. A relieved breath shuddered through her and her shoulder sagged. But then her gaze wandered to the window and in the corner of her room, by her bed, the shadows were darker, almost black, and they formed the silhouette of a man.

She ran. She tore from her bedroom, but the man was quicker and Sakura couldn't help it; a strangled cry escaped her. Strong, cold fingers pried her jaw open and stuffed something in her mouth. She couldn't speak. She could hardly breathe.

She struggled against his grip, kicking his shins where she could, digging her nails into the soft flesh of his inner wrists. But she was small, and not nearly as strong as the man, and he dragged her towards her bedroom.

She brought her knee up into his groin. He grunted and doubled over and Sakura dove for her weapon pouch. She fumbled with the flap, but got her kunai out before the man recovered and then she tore from her bedroom.

The world flashed by in a dark blur. Her feet, clad only in socks, slapped onto the cobblestones. She needed to get away. She needed to get out. Faster, quicker – she needed –

Her hands came up into hand signs on their own and then the shadow were reaching out to her. Hundreds of inky black hands embraced her and drew her into their grasp.

The faintest flash of movement in the corner of her eye. Her breath hitched. "No, no, no, no," she said and it became a mantra as she slammed her feet onto wall and sent chakra to them with such force that it burned through her coils.

She climbed the wall on hands and feet, grasping for anything, for anyone. But the dark streets were empty. There was no one to save her but herself.

At last a familiar house came into view. She skidded to a halt in front of Naruto's gate, almost tripping over her own feet in her hast to get to the door. She slammed her hand onto the bell, could feel her skin scrape along the stone wall.

The few terrible seconds that passed had her holding her breath. When the door opened to reveal a head full of yellow wisps, she let her shoulders sag with relief.

"Sakura," Minato said, surprise coloring his voice. His gaze roamed over her heaving chest, the protective arm around her stomach and her dilated pupils. "Why don't you come in?"

She had never been so glad to step into an hallway.

-0

[Snakeskin]

-0

"You mustn't be afraid," Kushina said a while later after Sakura had told her story in a tumble of words and short, panicked breaths. They were sitting in the living room, Sakura clutching a warm mug of tea, while Minato paced by the window.

"We'll investigate this," Kushina said, soothingly. She placed a hand on Sakura's arm and peered over her shoulder at her husband.

"I've sent one of my toads to Fugaku. Sasuke's father," he explained, when Sakura's expression turned questioning. "I'm sure he'll sent one of the Uchiha officers to check out your house."

"Toads?" she asked.

"I can summon them," Minato said, a smile tugged into his cheek. He sat down in front of her in the armchair.

"Summoning animals," Sakura said breathlessly. She edged forward on the couch and stared at him. "Could I get one of those?"

Minato laughed. It occurred to her that Naruto sounded exactly like that. "Unlikely. Summoning contracts are incredibly rare," he explained. "Not many animals lend their assistance, and they must deem you worthy first."

"Can contracts be inherited?" Sakura wanted to know.

Minato shook his head. "If Naruto ever wants to summon toads, he'll have to add his own name to the scroll," he said. "Toads would suit him, but perhaps my student would like his summoning animals to have another too."

Sakura wanted to know more; she wondered how one would know what animal they'd have an affinity for and she wanted to ask how one could acquire a summoning scroll, and how animals measured worthiness, but in that moment Kushina spoke up.

"All very interesting," she said, clapping her hands. "But it is late. Sakura, let's get you to bed."

After Sakura settled in Naruto's bed, she stared up at the ceiling and sighed deeply. She'd tugged the curtains close, unable to keep her heart from hammering at the sight of the dark garden, but she still couldn't relax.

A knock on her door startled her. Kushina stepped into the room and sat down on the bed.

"You know," she started, "you could have come to us. You didn't have to stay at your mother's house, especially after such a tragic event. Minato and I would have been glad to have you."

"I didn't want to impose," Sakura whispered. It was one thing to be here with Naruto, as his friend, but another to be here alone with her parents. She couldn't give herself ideas; this wasn't her home and never would be. Naruto was her friend, and just that – she wasn't family. She wasn't a sister.

Kushina hummed. "Just know that you are welcome here," she said, tugging the blankets underneath her. "You did good today, coming here, after such a scare. Very brave."

"I wasn't brave," Sakura said. "I ran."

Kushina seemed unconcerned. "Sometimes that's the wisest course of action."

She rose to her feet. "For now, go to sleep. You mustn't be afraid." One half of her face was curtained by shadows, while the other was set aflame in orange light from the hallway. Her eyes glittered.

"I'm a chakra sensor. The moment someone sets foot on my property, I will know."

-0

[Snakeskin]

-0

Summer made way for autumn and soon Sakura was back at school again. The training ground were covered in thick layers of orange and yellowed leaves. Sakura dressed hearing the rain on the windows, but even the bulky layers of wool of her uniform couldn't keep the cold out.

Outside, the world seemed muted in shades of grey. Fog billowed above the grass lawns, and the rain had turned the sand path to mud. Droplets splattered against her face, as she stepped from under the eaves and started off the path towards the fence, and it soaked her hair until it lay in knotted locks against her skin.

She reveled in the privacy of her walk. At this hour, none had arisen yet, and it allowed for a moment of solitude. In the Academy, it was hard to find a moment alone; when she went to bathe, there was always someone waiting outside the bathroom, tapping their foot; when she retired, there was always knocking on her door for a game of cards or some late night training. Rarely there was time for just Sakura.

She played with various genjutsu as she trudged her way up the hill. She made flowers bloom by her feet, opening up their bright yellow petals. She tried whether she could manipulate her senses, whether she could cast away the wetness and the cold, and convince herself she was warm and dry instead.

The sight of a man made her halt. He was standing on the hill, staring down at a map, and the sound of her approaching, he looked up.

After the incident at her mother's house she was instantly wary, but the man seemed harmless. He was more of a boy than a man, really, with grey hair and large, round glasses.

He smiled at her. "Going for a walk?" he said, and didn't wait for an answer. "I'm looking for the principal's office."

"That's not here," Sakura said cautiously. She let her gaze roam over his shinobi attire and his relaxed, harmless stance. "It's in the other building. For civilian-born students."

"Ah," the boy said, and heaved a sigh. "I've been looking for a while, and now I'm a bit late. I hope she won't be cross with me."

Sakura thought of Nagisa and her intimidating posture and thought that was very unlikely. She remained silent, though, since there was no use in telling him that and scaring him.

"Are you a student then?" the boy wanted to know.

"Yes," Sakura said shortly. She wanted him to go. She wanted to continue on her walk, before everyone else spilled out for their lessons.

"How nice," he said, with a smile. "My name is Kabuto. What's yours?"

"Sakura." She placed her hand on her hip; they grazed the fabric of her weapon pouch.

"What clan are you from?"

"No clan," Sakura said, while she wondered why he wanted to know. "I was transferred here on grounds of good grades and motivation."

"You sound like an excellent student," Kabuto said and his awed look made her a little uncomfortable. "I'm a genin myself."

"How interesting," Sakura said. "Shouldn't you go the principal? I'm sure she's waiting for you."

"I'm a medic," he said, ignoring her question entirely. She got the impression he was watching her carefully. "Is that something you're interested in?"

"A bit."

"Ah, wonderful." Kabuto smiled, and it transformed his face. "I remember when I was a student," he started jovially, "It was so hard to get any good instructions on healing. It's hard to get into at first – hard to get into without help."

The sight of his friendly face with its cheerful smile made her relax. "Yeah," she agreed. "The books help, but I'm not ready to test my healing skills on a human. The lack of practice material is frustrating."

"Isn't it?" Kabuto said. "If you want, I can give you some pointers. Not now," he added, when she frowned. "But I'm sure I can set something up with the principal, and maybe I can come around sometime to help you out. Would you like that?"

"Very much," Sakura said, unable to keep her growing smile from her face. As she bid Kabuto farewell and made her way back to the Main building, she reflected that she was progressing nicely. She wasn't there yet, not by a long shot, but she would keep bettering herself, would keep pushing.

And then, when it was time, she would leave and make a name for herself outside these walls.

-0

[Snakeskin]

-0

"Hinata!"

The girl in question skidded to a sudden halt, clutching her books tighter against her sternum. Sakura trudged towards her, a friendly smile plastered on her face that was meant to put Hinata at ease, but which was starting to feel increasingly plastic. She wasn't familiar with the girl, after all – they'd only spoken a few words in class and even that had been few.

"Hi there," she said, once she'd reached the girl. "Look, I need to talk to you. Want to go to the library?"

Hinata's face took on an alarmed expression. "I-Is there something w-w-wrong, Haruno-san?"

"Wrong?" Sakura repeated numbly. "No, I just have some questions. Let's go." She snaked her hand around Hinata's wrist and tugged until the girl fell into step behind her. Once in the library, she chose a secluded spot in the corner of the room, obscured by two heavy bookcases and far away from the group of Uchiha girls that sat by the window. They gave Sakura curious looks when she passed, their gazes lingering on her hair.

"Sit down," she told Hinata and took a seat herself. "Listen, I'm in need of some help. You see, my fighting style is mostly based on precision. I'm not like Naruto who can just throw around his fists, or Sasuke with his flawless techniques – I simply don't have the strength."

At the mention of Naruto, Hinata's face took on an odd look that Sakura couldn't quite place. Slightly pinched – almost constipated. She studied the expression for a long moment, and Hinata turned redder and redder with each passing second, until she ducked her head and started at her hands in her lap. Her fingertips trembled.

"Ah, well," Sakura said, pushing the thought away for a later time. "You Hyuuga use a very precise style – the Gentle fist, isn't it? And I thought I could learn to fight a little like that, so I'd like you to train with me, if that's alright."

Hinata braided her fingers together and looked up at her under a thick fringe. "A-A-Ah, Sakura-san, you c-c-c-c-can't-" She trailed off and her face became red to her roots. She took a deep, hitching breath, and tried again. "Y-you can't s-see tenkutsu points. O-Only the B-Byakugan c-c-can."

"I know that," Sakura said, a little impatiently. "But I could memorize all the points. I could," she added, when Hinata shook her head. "I'm good at learning and remembering. I wouldn't need your eyes!"

"I-It's not t-that," Hinata said. "It's a c-clan secret, you s-see. I can't share it with y-you, Haruno-san."

Sakura opened her mouth and closed it again. When she finally spoke, it was with a quiet vehemence that she didn't know she had in her: "Why is it that you clans get everything? I have to fight and beg for every scrap; I get ripped from my family like I'm nothing but cattle. And now you're hoarding your techniques too, ensuring that we civilians will never ever catch up to you." She punctuated the last words with a jab at her sternum.

Hinata ducked her head. Sakura knew she ought to feel apologetic. "Sweet girl," Ino had said, "that Hinata. She requires a delicate touch." She wasn't being delicate right now – no, Sakura couldn't care less whose feelings she trampled right now. If she had to break Hinata's heart to get what she wanted, so be it.

"Fine," she said mulishly and got up from her chair. It scraped aggravatingly over the wooden floor. "Be that way."

She whirled around, ready to set off towards her room to go scream into a pillow. When she almost rounded a bookcase, Hinata spoke up. "Ah, H-Haruno-san," she said, turning white as a sheet when Sakura turned back to her. "I-I c-c-c-c-can't help you with the G-Gentle Fist, but you are g-good at chakra control. If you c-could m-make chakra scalpels, maybe you w-wouldn't n-need to."

Sakura stared at her. "Because then I could do damage to the inside as a whole, without needing the tenketsu points," she breathed, when it dawned on her. She wouldn't need to hit a tenketsu point in an arm to render it utterly useless. She could sever its muscles with a chakra scalpel and it would be nothing more than a flopping appendage, unable to do harm. "Thanks, Hinata!"

She ran from the library, ignored the librarian's shout – a tall woman in green glasses and a pink knit – and burst out into the hallway. As she dashed down the stairs towards the training grounds, she had a fleeting thought that perhaps she owed Hinata a little more than a hastily uttered thanks. But Sakura would make it up to her sometime. She'd think of something.

Right now she had a technique to try and perfect.

-0

[Snakeskin]

-0

"Alright," Iruka-sensei clapped his hands and waited until the noise died down in the classroom. "We are going to spar. Now normally I want to see only taijutsu, but today you can go all out. Ninjutsu, kenjutsu, shiruken – name it."

The class whooped. "Now I don't want to say any maiming," Iruka-sensei said. "No fractured bones, either. I don't want any injuries." With that said, the class spilled out onto the training grounds.

Sakura looked around for a partner. Ino was standing by the Akimichi boy, gesturing wildly, so she looked for Ami instead. A tap on her shoulder revealed her.

"Ready?" Ami asked, as they went through their stretches.

"Maybe," Sakura said, although she did not feel ready at all. Ami's style was entirely unsuited for her; Sakura could never match her blow for blow. "Please spare me," she added with a dry look at her friend. "The last time I had bruises on my leg for weeks."

"Physical motivation to improve," Ami sniffed.

"Hey!" They both looked up at the new voice. The Inuzuka boy stood before them, wearing a grin that revealed long sharp canines. His puppy he was holding in his hands, and it barked happily at them in greeting. "You there, purple girl. Wanna spar?"

"Is that any way to address me?" Ami asked, raising one eyebrow. She shared a bemused look with Sakura, who only shrugged.

The boy's forehead scrunched up, as if deep in thought. "Ami, right?" he said slowly. "Ami Okabe, I think."

"That's right. And who are you?"

"You can call me Kiba," the boy grinned. "And this is my partner, Akamaru. So, what do you say? Wanna spar?"

Ami shook her head. "I'm already partnered," she started, but Sakura interrupted her.

"Go ahead," she said, waving them off. "I'll find someone else."

Ami sent her a helpless look over her shoulder, as she was dragged off by a cheerful Kiba, and Sakura only smiled slyly back. Now she had something to tease Ami about.

A clearing of a throat had her whirling around. "Do you want to spar with me?" Sasuke Uchiha asked.

Sakura stared dumbfounded at him. She had never spoken to him outside the company of Naruto, who had the tendency to sent any awkward situations out the window by his sheer amount of optimism. "What."

"I asked," Sasuke started, and now there was a hint of annoyance creeping into his voice. "If you'd like to spar."

"Uh," Sakura said dumbly, "sure. You're usually with Naruto," she added with a tilt of her head.

"He's with that new boy." Sasuke pointed to the pair in the distance. Naruto with his bright hair wasn't hard to spot. Beside him was the boy from the Red Dorm, and Sakura thought, rather spitefully, that he wasn't all that new anymore. Was that how Sasuke regarded her – as the new girl?

"Let's get going," she said briskly, seizing Sasuke by his wrist and pulling him with her. She led him to a clear part of the training ground, adjoining the lake.

Once they both settled in their respective fighting stance, they counted to three and then Sasuke pounced. He came at her with a force that Sakura hadn't been expecting and she had to duck to avoid an incoming fist.

But then there was Sasuke's knee, coming straight for her nose, and she scrambled backwards to get away. She retreated, the lake behind her, and sent four shirukens careening at his face.

For a moment it seemed like Sasuke wasn't going to dodge, but then smoke billowed around him and the shirukens slammed harmlessly into a tree trunk.

As she scanned the area for his hiding place, Sakura quietly reflected that Sasuke was as talented as he seemed. Fast and aggressive, and utterly ruthless. He must have been a dancer in his previous life, she thought. His movements were fluent and almost graceful, and he weaved around her fists and kicks with a swift reaction time.

She sensed movement in her peripheral vision, and Sasuke was upon her again. They exchanged blows, and Sasuke grabbed her arm and pulled her forward with such force that she knew he could have broken it if he'd wanted to.

She reached around and slammed a chakra-covered fist into his kidneys. He grunted and let her go at once, and Sakura stumbled into the treeline. She shinned a tree and hidden safely in the branches, she waited for her breathing to even out.

She wasn't going to win this. That had been clear from the start. But she wasn't going to lay down either – she needed to bring this fight into her own territory.

Sakura jumped down. Sasuke was ready for her; he sent two kunai at her, which she slashed out of the air with her own.

She was on him in a matter of seconds, and layered her hands in genjutsu. With any luck Sasuke wouldn't notice them – wouldn't notice that her real fists came in at a slightly different angle than he thought they would.

But Sasuke was better at detecting at genjutsu than she'd expected and he set to dismantling them right away. Dividing his attention between blocking Sakura's blows and removing the illusions on her hands proved difficult, as she kept adding more and more. She had been trained by Kurenai-sensei herself, a genjutsu specialist, and this came to her as easily as breathing did.

The frown on his face became severe. She drove him backward into a corner, and soon her genjutsu proved to be enough; her fist came slightly more to the left than he'd anticipated and went straight through his defenses. It slammed into his face and Sakura could feel something crunch and give away under her knuckles.

There was blood on her fist when she pulled it back and Sasuke's own hand flew up to his broken nose. She could see the fury in his eyes, and knew she needed to get away.

"Fire release," Sasuke exclaimed, his voice slightly choked, his hands switching through hand signs so quickly they became a blur. A great ball of flames spewed from his mouth and Sakura dove for the lake.

She wasn't fast enough. The fire burned her left side, and she let herself collapse, her arms reaching out to break her fall. But she didn't fall into the water – it didn't splash. Instead, she was balancing on the lake, like she'd done at the wall.

Slowly, a little wobbly, as the water lapped under her hands and feet, she got up. Come and get me, she thought, waving mockingly at Sasuke, who was still bleeding from his nose. She doubted he could get onto the lake like she could.

"What is going on here?" Iruka-sensei hissed, as he stalked towards them. His face was red with anger and his eyes widened as he took in Sasuke's bloodied state and Sakura's burned left arm. "Didn't I tell you to be careful? Fire release, Sasuke? That is much too dangerous to use on classmates-"

He went on, voice rising, and Sakura tuned him out. He dragged them inside, past their classmates who stared after them with shocked expressions. Beside her, Sasuke grunted, his head bent, as he clutched his nose, and she smirked.

She may not have won from him, but this could certainly be considered a stalemate.

-0

[Snakeskin]

-0

"This is your fault," Sasuke grumbled, pressing his pen against his paper with such force that it went straight through. He cursed under his breath.

"You're the one who sent a fireball at me," Sakura hissed, as she added another _I will obey instructions and not use excessive force against my classmates _to her paper. From the front of the classroom came Iruka's pointed clearing of his throat, and they both fell silent.

"You broke my nose," Sasuke said, even quieter than before. He glared at her, his dark eyes smoldering. "Like that isn't excessive use of force."

"You burned my left sleeve off," Sakura said dryly. "And most of my skin."

"The medic fixed you up in a few seconds," Sasuke said with a scowl. "You're just weak."

"Your nose took even less." Sakura rolled her eyes. Sasuke opened his mouth, most likely to add another sharp comment, but he closed it again when Iruka-sensei rose to his feet.

"I have to get something from the staff room," he said, eyes flickering between them. "Behave yourselves." With those last words, he swept out the room.

"Good, he's gone," Sasuke said, and abandoned all pretense of finishing his lines. He whirled around to face her. "I would have won," he continued, eyes narrowed. "If you didn't play dirty."

"The genjutsu, you mean?" Sakura said sweetly, laying down her own pen as well. "That's not dirty – that's just smart. It's not my fault you're no good at it."

Sasuke's face turned very red. "How dare you," he said, and the words came out a little strangled. "I am an Uchiha. I have more shinobi blood in my veins than you'll ever have in a lifetime-"

"Spare me the clan sale's pitch," Sakura said. She frowned at him. "Listen – we both did well. I took you by surprise and your fireball surprised me. And that's fine. No hard feelings, okay?"

Sasuke blinked at her. "It's still your fault," he grumbled.

"Iruka-sensei didn't think that way." Her voice was dry. "In fact, he lectured you endlessly about the extensive scarring you could have given me."

Sasuke's ears took on a pinkish color. Sakura studied them with amusement. "With a face like yours," Sasuke said, "facial scarring would only be an improvement."

Sakura told herself that she wasn't angry. She turned back to her paper and made a great show of studying her lines. She knew she wasn't a great beauty. She wasn't like Ino, who was glamorous even when she did not try to be. She was not even like Ami, who truly did not care for her appearance, other than looking presentable.

"Hey," Sasuke said softly. She looked up at him. "We can get out of here," he offered, and she thought it might be an apology.

"We can't just skip detention," she said, looking towards the door. "Ami would kill me. She's a prefect," she added, when Sasuke stared. "A stickler for the rules."

"Naruto would applaud me," Sasuke said, heaving one shoulder. "But I think my father would kill me, if it were to get back to him."

He sighed, and picked up his pen again. "I'm not looking forward to another hundred lines."

"Perhaps we don't need to," she said, an idea dawning on her. "Watch." She snatched Sasuke's paper from his desk, ignoring his grunt of protest, and her hands blurred through signs. Subtle, she thought, be subtle. When she looked up, the paper was full of Sasuke's neat, even handwriting.

"Genjutsu," Sasuke breathed. "That's clever."

It was the first compliment he'd given her, and Sakura felt her face become warm. She looked away quickly and lay a genjutsu over her paper as well.

"Let's get out of here," Sasuke said, and she agreed wholeheartedly.

-0

[Snakeskin]

-0

Alright, here's another chapter. Not as long as I hoped it would be, and definitely not as polished, but I hope it's satisfactory. Hope that you are all enjoying the new year. Thank you for all your reviews - I cherish all of them - and don't hesitate to leave another!


	4. Chapter 4

Sometimes you can't remain the prey. Orochimaru succeeded in becoming Hokage and revolutionized the Academy. Konoha comes for Sakura one day, armed with doctrine and regulations. Thrust in a world where blood and power rule, she will need to adapt and swallow her hate, if she wants to stay alive. One way or another, Sakura will claw her way up to freedom. AU!

-0

[Snakeskin]

-0

Ami found Sakura in her room one autumn afternoon, and she came in after a tentative knock on the door.

Sakura shut her book on chakra sensing, memorizing the page number so that she could go back to it once Ami left. Ever since the incident at home and since Kushina had mentioned the ability, her interest was piqued. If she had been able to sense chakra, she would have known there was an intruder in her house. She wouldn't have been caught off guard as she'd been.

Ami looked around the room, her gaze roaming over the stacks of books and papers scattered over the floor. Sakura fought off a flush. If Mommy was here, she would have scolded her for leaving her room in a state of such disarray, and Sakura would have argued that there was a certain order to the extensive piles of scrolls and pages. Her notes on chakra scalpels were arranged by the door, and the information on summoning animals she'd spread out by her bed.

"I came to talk to you about something," Ami started, carefully stepping over a botched sealing array that Sakura had tried her hand at. "I went to the fence and I couldn't find Fuki anywhere."

"Maybe she just didn't have classes outside on that day," Sakura said with a shrug. She hadn't thought of Fuki in a while and the faintest feeling of shame fluttered in her chest. "I'm sure she'll turn up."

"No." Ami shook her head. "I mean that I have been going for the last months, and I haven't seen her. Not a single time."

"Maybe her parents took her out of school," Sakura suggested, and she sounded uncertain to her own ears.

Ami hummed. She plopped herself down on the bed and ran a hand over her face. Scrubbing at her eyes, she said, "They wouldn't do that, I don't think. Not this close to graduation, and Fuk wouldn't disappear without a goodbye. I have a bad feeling about this, Sakura."

"Maybe," Sakura started, casting around for reassuring words, "Maybe she had a training accident and was in the hospital for a bit. Look, why don't we go to Iruka-sensei and ask to go see her?"

"That's what I did," Ami said. "And he said no. He didn't mention a reason," she continued hastily, when Sakura's questioning frown grew severe, "he just said it wasn't allowed."

"Then we need to take matters into our own hands," Sakura said, sitting up straight. She leveled Ami with a stare. "Sasuke mentioned once his family owns message hawks. Maybe we could borrow one. Think we can get Naruto to convince him?"

"Or," Ami said casually, her features twisting as if she tasted something sour, "we could go to her. You jumped the fence once after all."

She stared. Ami's nose scrunched up. "Don't look at me like that," she huffed, her cheeks turning pink.

"I just thought I'd never hear you suggest to break the rules," Sakura said, feeling a little as if the world had tilted on its axis. "But that's an idea. Meet me at midnight by the fence. And don't wake anyone up."

-0

[Snakeskin]

-0

Sakura waited under an oak tree by the fence, clad in her thick brown cloak. She'd hidden her pink hair beneath her hood, and layered a genjutsu over her body to hide it away in the shadows. She scanned the tree line and the flat grassy landscape for any movement, but all was still.

She sat down against the tree, the bark pricking into the her spine. She leaned onto her forearms, and stared at the glass blades that sprouted up between her feet. It were times like these that she could forget about the Academy and all which had come with it – her mother's death, the upheaval of her daily life.

Finally, after her legs grew numb and her fingers ached with cold, two figures appeared on the horizon.

Sakura cursed silently under her breath. She rose to meet them and waited by the tree as they approached. The night was dark; smoky, wispy clouds blotted the sky, and drew out the moonlight.

"Let's go," Ami said, when they were close enough. Ino stood next to her, her blonde hair done up in a messy bun on top of her head. She smiled, when Sakura sent her a curious glance, but her eyes were hard and serious.

They climbed the fence and hopped down the other side. Sakura cloaked them in genjutsu, and they kept to the shadows as they crept over the courtyard. Ami led them towards the other side of the building, where she halted in front of the bedroom window, the nutty brown leaves crunched under her boots.

"I hope you don't mind I came," Ino whispered against Sakura's neck, her breath hot and breezing. A strand of blonde hair tickled her cheek. She wondered if Ino knew she smelled sweet, like flowers. "I couldn't leave you two to do it alone – you need someone to take care of you."

"We're plenty capable of that ourselves," Sakura whispered back, a smile tugging at her lips.

Ami shushed them with a jerky motion of her hand. She crept towards the window and peeked inside, and what she saw did not bring any happiness or joy on her face. She beckoned them, her features twisting up, but Sakura couldn't tell with what.

When she looked inside, it was clear what upset Ami. Fuki's bed was empty.

The other bunkbeds were occupied; Sakura could just make out the shape of a person burrowed in their sheet in the upper bed, and she spotted a head of curly black hair on the lower.

"She's not here," Ami hissed in her ear. "What do we do now?"

"Let's go," Sakura said, for the girl in the lower bunkbed was stirring. They walked silently, the wind playing with their hair. An owl flew over their heads, its black eyes unblinking.

By the time they reached the hills and the White Dorm came into view, it was as if an unspoken agreement flowed through them and they sat down in the grass. None of them wanted to drag themselves to their rooms, only to lie awake with their thoughts.

Ami sat with her head bowed, chin resting against her sternum, and she tore out blades of grass with jerky, angered movements. Ino lay a hand on her arm and with the other she intertwined Sakura's fingers with her own.

"It happened before, y'know," Ami began, her voice muffled. "Katsumi was there too, at first. She disappeared as well."

There was silence, in which the three of them took in the words. Sakura stared at the flat landscape around her, at the grass which moved like waves in the steady breeze, at the dark tree line where no light could penetrate.

"I had a cousin," Ino said, laying down flat on her back. She stared up at the sky. "Fuu. He went missing."

"Three," Sakura said, and flushed slightly when her friends both turned to look at her. "That's three already. Surely someone must have noticed."

Ino shrugged. "Maybe people did, but nobody knows where to look."

"Maybe they left the village," Sakura suggested. That's what she would do. And then she would be another name on that missing people list – just someone who got up and walked into the fog, never to be found again.

"Fuki didn't want to leave the village," Ami snapped. "She wanted to graduate."

"She didn't like it here either," Sakura argued, remembering what had transpired in the lavatory of the Red Dorm. Fuki's half-crazed eyes, the angry set of her mouth – her hands cinching Sakura's airflow.

For a while nobody said anything. Ami lay her head on Sakura's shoulder, and Ino's hand squeezed hers. They sat there in silence, all lost in their own thoughts, until the first golden rays of sunlight filtered over the tree tops, until the sky bled into a reddish hue that slowly turned blue.

When they trudged back to the Academy, to tackle another day of lessons, Sakura had one terrible thought. If she disappeared too, it would break her friends' hearts – and she had no idea what to do about it.

-0

Snakeskin

-0

"You're angry all the time."

Ino's words positioned themselves between them. They were sitting in the library in two velvet armchairs. They were meant to be studying for the upcoming history test. Sakura's textbook lay opened on the table, but Ino had abandoned all pretense of studying and was instead gazing outside, where the first snowflakes drifted peacefully to the ground.

"What?" Sakura said, startled. She looked up from the picture of the Shodaime in her book.

Ino placed her chin on her hand. "I doubt you've even noticed yourself, but I was trained in it, and it's a fairly obvious thing."

"I have no idea what you're going on about."

"If I've noticed, everyone else has too," Ino said, ignoring Sakura's frown. "I don't mean our classmates, especially not the ones you hang out with. Naruto is too clueless in general, and Sasuke has a too big inferiority complex to notice anything but himself. And Ami wouldn't know what emotions were if they hit her in the face. So," she added, leaning forward, "it is left to me to take care of it."

Sometimes, at times like this, Sakura wondered why she even liked Ino. The girl was friendly with all their classmates, and her personality was brash and blunt, but sometimes she was a little too calculating for Sakura's liking.

"Don't butt into my business, please," Sakura said tiredly. She pointed towards Ino's textbook. "Open that and get on with it."

"I heard from Naruto that you had a problem with your mom," Ino continued, as if she hadn't heard her.

"That isn't true." Naruto wouldn't have divulged her personal information like that. And Sakura didn't think Sasuke was one to gossip either.

"Nah, okay, it isn't." Ino shrugged. "I overheard you in the canteen."

"Then why pretend?" She couldn't keep the anger out of her voice. "You could have caused a fight between me and Naruto!"

Ino waved her off. "I haven't seen you get angry at him yet." She paused, and sucked in a whistling breath. "Is it because you think that if you hurt him his parents won't let you stay in their home?"

Sakura had enough. She pushed her chair back with such force that it bumped into the wall and swept her supplies into her bag. "Find someone else to analyze," she snapped, and stalked out of the library.

A long-suffering sigh rolled over her shoulder, and then Ino was walking beside her.

"You really shouldn't get so riled up, you know," she said, quickening her pace as Sakura walked faster. "I was only trying to help."

"No, you were trying to anger me."

"I was trying to get you" - and this Ino punctuated with a stabbing finger at Sakura's chest - "to admit that something is wrong. That perhaps you're more emotionally undone than you're trying to admit. You're pushing away your feelings, bottling them up, and one day they're going to cause problems!"

"Great. When that day comes, I'll know who to find," Sakura said.

Ino threw her hands up in the air. "Why do I even bother?" she asked, frustration lining every syllable. Not waiting for an answer, she added, "Because I'm a good friend, that's why."

"Keep telling yourself that," Sakura murmured and ducked to avoid Ino's slap.

"You're not sleeping," her friend said, as they stepped out onto a snow-covered lawn. The snow was trampled by their feet. In the distance, three children were having a snowball fight. "It's awful for your skin, y'know."

Sakura snorted. "My skin is perfectly fine."

"It really isn't." Ino tapped her cheek with a finger. "Look at those eyebags. I don't even know what to call them. Except for an abomination, that is."

Sakura shook her off. "Shut it," she growled, steadily ignoring Ino's hearty chuckle. "I'm fine."

"You most definitely aren't," Ino said, "but for now, I'll let you bask in denial. Here." She grabbed Sakura's hand and folded her fingers around something small and rectangular.

"A shrink?" Sakura asked, unable to keep the disbelief out of her voice. She stared down at the glossy, blue business card. "You can't be serious."

"I'll let you know that my cousin Inori is one of the best in her field." Ino's hand clasped her own and squeezed. "Just consider it."

"Fine," Sakura said, stuffing the card into her pocket. Her knuckles rapped against the metal of her token. "I'll keep it in mind."

-0

[Snakeskin]

-0

In her civilian life, Sakura had liked monotony. She had liked going to class, her lunchbox full of home-cooked deliciousness, her backpack full of heavy books. She liked going home to a house that smelled of detergent and warm dough. She liked struggling over physics question by the kitchen table, while Mommy rummaged away in the kitchen, and occasionally offered a helpful comment.

But here in the Academy, she started to detest it. The consistency, she found, was boring. She wanted to read her chakra sensing books. She wanted to find out more about chakra scalpels, and wire traps, and scent tracing. Instead, she was stuck in lessons that droned on about the Second Shinobi war, or where they were set to plastering leaves on their skin. They ran through the same katas every day, practiced the same kunai movements.

And so, it was with some relief that the notice about Kabuto's lesson arrived.

She asked Ami to go with her, and Sakura could see the excitement in her eyes, along with an uncharacteristic nervousness.

"I'm still no good at chakra control," Ami said, as they trudged down the stairs. "I can do the Expulsion exercise, but that's it."

The Expulsion exercise was a practice where leaves were propelled from the skin, by chakra alone. Iruka-sensei had showed it to them; he'd sent his leaf flying at the blackboard, with little difficulty. This was an exercise that Naruto was surprisingly good at, and he showed it off to every classmate.

"Sakura, do you think I'm impressive?" he'd said, as another leaf filtered through the air and drifted to the ground. She suspected it had something to do with his large chakra reserves. His achievement had little to do with control, she thought a little spitefully, gathering up her supplies. Naruto's leaves had no aim to them – they just floated around, following the path of least resistance.

"Very impressive," she agreed, for she didn't want to be mean, and steadily ignored Ino's sly look.

They arrived at Kabuto's classroom, and knocked twice on the door. Sakura slung the door open, before he could finish his "do come in!" and smiled widely.

"Hi there, senpai," she said. She gestured to Ami, who idled a little nervously beside her. "I asked my friend, Ami, to accompany me. She's just as eager to learn medical ninjutsu."

Something passed over Kabuto's face, but it was gone too fast to categorize – was it annoyance? She shook that thought off, when he beckoned them further into the classroom, with a smile. A coral row of teeth – friendly, inviting. There was no sign of exasperation or anger, she thought, but she was almost certain that she'd seen it, just for one short moment.

"Come further, come further," he said, with a hearty chuckle. "I always like eager students."

They both took a seat by Kabuto's desk and looked up at him. His smile hadn't left his face.

"Now," he said, "tell me, can any of you already form medical chakra?"

"No," they chorused. Ami's gaze burned on her face. Sakura opted to ignore it and instead gazed at her new teacher with a slightly apologetic smile.

"No harm done, that's completely fine." Kabuto's chest puffed up. "It is a fairly complicated practice, medical ninjutsu."

He set them to work on creating a concentrated mass of chakra on their palm, after which they were to split it in either Yin or Yang chakra. Not before long, Ami's forehead was entirely covered in sweat beads, and Sakura felt the strain on her chakra reserves.

"Very good," Kabuto praised. "Let's meet together next week, same time."

As they trudged back to their rooms, Ami said, a little too casually, "I find it interesting that you haven't tried your hand at medical chakra yet. All those medical books, and no progress yet."

"You have read much more than me," Sakura said, averting her gaze.

"I don't have top notch grades in chakra control." Ami studied her from the corner of her eye. "Was it for me, to make me feel less bad? Because then you failed miserably."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Then you don't want him to know about your skills. Why not?" she asked bluntly, halting suddenly and placing her hands on her hips.

Sakura stopped as well, and looked around her. The hallway was empty, but there was no telling who might be listening. "I just don't think he needs to know everything."

"He's teaching you." Ami's stare was incredulous. "You won't benefit from his instruction, if you're not honest about your skills."

Sakura made a split decision. "Not here," she said, grabbing Ami's arm. "Come with me."

She dragged her friend towards her room, ignoring her long-suffering sigh and the muttered comments under her breath. Once there, Sakura pushed Ami inside and locked the door. "I received a sponsorship token." Sakura plopped onto her bed. "I got it that day of the transfer. Its sender was anonymous. I'm being watched."

"Woah. That's great news," Ami said, as if she hadn't heard the last sentence. "You've already caught the idea of someone."

"This isn't good news." Sakura wrinkled her nose. "I have no idea who they are."

"Let's show it to Ino," Ami suggested. "She's from a clan – maybe she can help."

"Absolutely not," she hissed. "What if it's Ino's clan who's sponsoring me?"

"Would that really be so bad?" Ami lay down on her bed and gazed up at her. "She's our friend."

"She's also a dangerous individual," Sakura huffed. "Have you forgotten that her clan is trained in mind jutsu? That her father works at the Torture & Intelligence office?"

"Don't be ridiculous. That's for traitors, and besides, Ino likes you." Ami hummed thoughtfully. "Maybe it's Naruto's parents. They're pretty taken with you, with how they keep inviting you into their home."

"I don't know," Sakura said. "The anonymity is strange. Why would you want to keep your identity a secret if you're interested in sponsoring me? It just feels...threatening."

"Maybe they want to wait and see what you're capable of. Look, why don't you just ask the principal?"

"She didn't give me a clear answer last time, and she won't this time either," Sakura said firmly. She was sure of that; she hadn't liked that calculating glimmer in Nagisa's eye one bit. Then an idea dawned at her. "But," she said slowly, thoughtfully, "you're right that Nagisa knows who it is. The information must be in her office."

She rounded on Ami. "Let's break into it!" she said.

-0

[Snakeskin]

-0

"This is illegal," Ami said.

"So you've said," Sakura sighed.

"Illegal. And dangerous. If we're caught we'll be in a lot of trouble. Maybe they'll kick us out."

"Good for us, less risk of death," Sakura said, her gaze surveying the area around them. She narrowed her eyes – was there something moving in the distance?

Ami still wasn't done. "We'll starve on the streets. I will never be able to fulfill my dream of becoming Lady Tsunade's prized student, and it would be all your fault and I will slowly waste away living in a box, until I die at the age of thirty from a drug overdose."

"Will you stop it?" Sakura rolled her eyes. "You have an annoying tendency towards hyperbole."

"I'm just being realistic," Ami huffed, as she opened the window latch and silently opened it. Sakura swung one leg over the railing and landed almost soundlessly in a crouch. A quiet ruffling told her that Ami had slipped into the room as well, as she surveyed the office with a keen eye.

In the moonlight, the principal's office looked as any other did. A mahogany desk, velvet curtains by the windows, book cases lining the walls – it looked almost homely. Ami's finger tapped a code against her thigh: booby-trapped?

Uncertain, Sakura tapped back. She searched for the glint of a metal wire, but found none. The office was still and quiet.

Then the light flickered on.

"Ami Fujimoto," Nagisa said, from where she was leaning against the wall. Clad in a long black dress, and with her hair pinned up, she looked as if she'd just came from a party. "Sakura Haruno. Why am I not surprised?"

Ami rose into a bow almost instantly, her head almost touching the floor. When Sakura didn't follow, her foot shot out and kicked her shins. Sakura mirrored her quickly. "Please forgive us, ma'am," Ami said. Her voice was slightly muffled, and she sounded, Sakura thought, close to tears.

Nagisa was silent for a long moment. Sakura peeked up at her from between her hair, which had fallen over her face. Nagisa's eyes caught her hers. They narrowed dangerously and Sakura gulped, bringing her gaze back to her shoes.

"Fujimoto," the woman said slowly. Ami straightened beside her, heels clicking together. "Leave us."

"Ma'am?"

"Leave us," Nagisa instructed. "Scurry back to that room of yours." When Ami still didn't react, sending Sakura an unsure glance, her expression grew severe. "I said out, Fujimoto."

Ami hastened to do so. Her increasingly apologetic expression would have been comical in any other situation, but now Sakura only felt a deep dread as she watched the door close behind her friend's back.

"To me," Nagisa said. Her voice brooked no argument. Sakura approached her slowly, tension lining every muscle and tendon. Images of dark cells and torture devices flashed through her head.

The woman grabbed her by the wrist and pushed her into a seat. Sakura let out a startled yelp. Nagisa leaned forward, hand slamming onto Sakura's forearm and thereby pinning her in the chair.

"You're a fool," she hissed, leaning so close that Sakura could feel her breath on her upper lip. "What were you thinking, breaking into my office like this?"

"You're hurting me," Sakura said. It came out as a whimper. Nagisa's grip tightened even further. "And you deserve it," she said, spitting droplets of saliva onto Sakura's face. "Do you know what they'd do to you?"

Sakura leaned away, and wished for someone to come through the door and take her far away from here. But the office was empty, except for the two of them and the only sound was Nagisa's labored breathing.

"I hate civilian children," the woman announced, releasing Sakura abruptly. She stalked back to her desk and collapsed into the leather armchair, which squeaked aggravatingly under her weight. Fishing out a cigarette from her breast pocket, Nagisa eyed her with all the danger a predator could possess. Make one wrong move, the gaze said, and I will gobble you up.

"W-Why?" The word escaped her before she could stop herself.

"They have no concept of danger." Smoke billowed over Nagisa's face, writhing like a living thing. "They come into this world like lambs, naive and stupid and thinking that their mistakes will be met with a slap on the wrist. No, that's not reality in here – in here, mistakes get you killed."

Sakura swallowed. Her heart hammered in her throat. "Is that what you're going to do to me?"

Nagisa stared at her and Sakura could see genuine surprise ripple over her face. "No, girl," she said mockingly, "You have potential and skill and right now that is the only thing that saves you. Certain parties want you to succeed and I am not in the habit of going against them."

A breath of relief whooshed out of her. Sakura leaned back in her chair, and sat on her hands to keep them from trembling.

"Your friend is not so lucky, I'm afraid." Sakura whirled her head around and stared at her with wide eyes. Nagisa stared back, one corner of her mouth twitching.

"I'm not going to kill her, if that's what you think," she said, before Sakura could form the question, "but she will be expelled from the Academy. She and her family will be denied every financial aid, every subsidy, from now on." She flicked some ash from her cigarette, and her mouth stretched into a real smile. Sakura shuddered at the sight of it. "Too bad her poor, sickly mother needs that money for her medical treatment, doesn't she?"

"You're lying," Sakura hissed. "Tsunade of the Sannin healed Ami's mother."

"Just because the woman is no longer dying doesn't mean she's completely healed." Nagisa rolled her eyes and took another tug of her cigarette. "She'll live a long, steady life with access to medication, but I doubt she'll last long without it."

"You're evil," Sakura said. She stared at the woman behind the desk and wondered how someone could be so merciless. "You'd let an innocent woman die for – for what? For this? Because we sneaked into your office?"

Nagisa's hand came down hard on her desk. The resulting twack sent Sakura flinching back in her chair, her blood pounding through her ventricles. "You think this is nothing, girl? I could have you whipped and paraded before your classmates, just to prove a point. People are watching you, Haruno, and they are not as inclined to forgive as I am. This is mercy."

There was a long silence in which they stared at each other. Sakura hoped Nagisa could see the hate in her eyes. She imagined her fingers on her chest, the medical chakra sweeping in and destroying the tissues, denaturing the proteins. She imagined Nagisa's caved-in chest, her unseeing eyes, the blue tint to her gaze.

It was Nagisa who broke their stare first. She threw the cigarette onto the floor and stamped on it with a sandaled foot. "Ami Fujimoto will be expelled from the Academy," she said, "unless you change my mind."

"Change your mind? How?"

"A favor. One," she added, holding up a finger.

"What kind of favor?" Sakura didn't like the glint in Nagisa's eyes.

"All in due time," the woman said. "But if you accept, your little friend will stay here and graduate. Her mother will keep her money and with that, she will survive. What do you think?"

Sakura sucked in air. It felt as there was not enough oxygen in her lungs. In the end, it wasn't much of a choice. "I accept," she said, feeling as if she'd just made a deal with the devil.

"Good." Nagisa's smile was full of teeth. "Get out of my sight then."

Sakura did as she was told, but halted in the door frame. She took a deep breath and peered over her shoulder. "Who's watching me?"

Nagisa held her stare. "Oh, girlie," she sighed. "Don't you see? Everyone."

-0

[Snakeskin]

-0

When she returned to her room, she found Ami anxiously waiting on her bed. She jumped up when Sakura came into the room, hands wringing together, the whites of her eyes showing. They stood in silence for a while, with Ami watching her, her mouth half-agape, her breath fast and panicked.

"Well?" she snapped at last, when Sakura didn't say anything. "Tell me what happened."

"Nothing happened."

"Don't lie to me," Ami said, stalking closer. Her hands, balled up into fists, trembled by her sides. "What's our punishment?"

"Ami," Sakura said. "I'm tired. I'd like to go to sleep." The sight of Ami's startled face made her lips twitch, just a little. "I'll see you in the morning."

"No, you can't – you can't just – you have to tell me-"

"Goodnight." With that, Sakura shoved her out the door and locked it. She stood by the door for a long moment, listening to Ami's labored breathing. Eventually she heard a muffled curse and then footsteps fading away in the distance.

She sank to the floor and put her head between her knees, heart pounding in her chest. People are watching you, Haruno. She dug her nails into the palm of her hands, and thought of Nagisa. Of the senbon in her hair, boring through her skull. Of her mother, laying in her bed, like she was just sleeping. I didn't know they would take you today.

She flashed through the hand seals and watched how Mommy flickered to life. "My poor girl," she said, pressing a kiss against Sakura's temple. Sakura leaned into her, and pressed her face against Mommy's shoulder, trying to breathe in her scent. But there was nothing there. "I'm here. I'll always be here."

"I just want to kill her," Sakura told her.

"I know." Her hand raked through Sakura's hair, her nails scraping over her scalp. "And you will, my sweetling. Just like you did to me."

-0

[Snakeskin]

-0

"This lesson I'd like to focus on the Sly Mind Affect Technique," Kurenai said. They were sitting in a training dojo. "It is a very interesting evasive technique which lets the victim believe they are walking in one straight line, but instead they are constantly walking in circles. While it is not a combat technique, it will buy you time if you are in trouble."

"Camouflage and evasion," Sakura said, "I feel like that's all we've focused on in these lessons."

Her teacher narrowed red eyes at her. "These are techniques that will save your life, Sakura. Too many of my colleques focus on flashy jutsu. I'll be frank with you: while that is all good and well in battle, with your skillset, you'll be running and escaping a lot more than you'll be fighting."

"I know," Sakura insisted, because she did. She had seen the way Naruto and Sasuke used their spars for showing off. "I just want – I need something more than that. I need something that does actual damage."

Kurenai's eyes were piercing, and Sakura had the interesting feeling that she was being vivisected under that red gaze. That thought brought her heart rate up and she told herself firmly to calm down, lest the woman noticed that. Her secrets were safe; no one knew about Mommy.

"What brought this on?" Kurenai asked, after a long bout of silence. Sakura cast around for words, but Kurenai beat her to it. "Iruka mentioned that you're doing well in all of your classes, so that can't be it," she said, her stare unwavering. She sounded like she was listing off pieces of evidence. "Is it that Uchiha boy? Iruka said your spar with him was surprisingly vicious."

"Isn't there something like confidentiality?" Sakura said, feeling faintly incredulous.

"I'm your teacher, Sakura." A smile tugged at her mouth. "That means I know everything."

Sakura told herself firmly that Kurenai was just riling her up. "It isn't Sasuke," she said, ejecting as much disbelief into her tone as she dared. For all that the boy could be an arrogant bastard from time to time, they did seem to tolerate each other most of the time and were even friendly when Naruto was around.

"I just want to be strong," Sakura said, thinking that she'd rather not tell Kurenai about her recent incident with an attacker in her home. There was no telling where her loyalties lay after all, seeing as she had so steadily ignored Sakura's own kidnapping. "They're all from a clan – they all have these abilities that I'll never be able to match. I want to be strong on my own merit."

Kurenai watched her for a long moment and then tugged at her collar. "Fine," she said, standing up and dusting off her knees. "Get ready."

"We're going to do it now?"

"No time like the present." And with those ominous words, the world began to sway and shimmer, like she was caught in a heat mirage. Kurenai turned around and the wall seemed to reach out for her; another step and it opened up, swallowing her whole.

Sakura waited with bated breath, but everything seemed still and silent. "Aren't you going to teach me anything?" Her voice echoed through the empty room.

The ground rippled under her feet and Sakura watched in horrified fascination as it bulged up to reveal Kurenai's face. Her wooden lips moved: "I am. Genjutsu is not like taijutsu or even ninjutsu – it is less about techniques and jutsu, and more about the limits of your own mind. It's an art, a craft for which you must work hard to call it your own."

A wooden hand snaked around her ankle. "I have given you many tools. Let's see which one you can use to do damage, alright?" And with that, she dragged Sakura under.

-0

[Snakeskin]

-0

Two hours later and Sakura was certain Mommy would have been mortified by her battered state. Sweat beads dripped into her eyes and her soaked shirt clung to her back. But there was a feeling of satisfaction too, as she brought her hands up into signs once more and layered one genjutsu over the other.

It was a testiment to Kurenai's skill that she had no trouble dismantling any of them. As quick as Sakura applied them, those carefully arranged genjutsu, subtly stacked up over one another, as quick did Kurenai tear through them like paper.

A kunai slammed into the wall beside her, missing her cheek by only a few inches. Sakura had no time to wonder if that kunai was even real, or an illusion, as Kurenai came for her again, followed by thick, green vines, which aimed to wrap themselves around her limbs.

Quick as a snake Sakura dove for the ground. She layered herself in genjutsu, letting herself bleed into the ground as she had seen Kurenai do. But before she could disappear from the woman's view entirely, those thick vines wound themselves around her shoulders and yanked her up in the air.

"A little mouse in a trap," Kurenai whispered, her voice distorted and not quite human. It's not real, Sakura told herself, none of this is real. But even though that knowledge was there, even though she felt Kurenai's chakra clearly in her own system, she couldn't quite believe it. The pressure of those vines was there, as they dug painfully into her flesh. If she squinted, she could make out little hairs running along the green stems.

She wriggled one hand loose and grasped her weapon pouch before another vine could sneak around and immobilize her once again. She brought her kunai up and slashed the jungle of plants, slicing through her ropes.

She fell to the ground and Sakura felt her ankle give way. Biting back a strangled yelp of pain, she looked up, only to see those vines reaching for her again, with Kurenai in their midst, and she had one single thought: she wanted them gone.

Her fingers moved on their own accord. Fire spilled from her lips, and Sakura thought about the heat from Sasuke's katon jutsu. About the fire that burned her, and the heat and pain that followed. For the brief moment in which those flames had licked her, the scorching heat had been unbearable, making her eyes water and her throat close up.

Her own flames devoured the vines quicker than she thought possible. It spread like a wildfire, leaving only grey ash on the dojo floor.

"Well done," Kurenai said. Her voice sounded normal again. She extended a hand to Sakura and helped her up. "You're getting better."

"Good," Sakura said. Satisfaction thrummed through her and she left the dojo with a spring in her step, the cold winter air biting at her face. The next time someone attacked her, she would make sure he joined Mommy, all those six feet underground.

-0

[Snakeskin]

-0

"Team Seven: Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto and Haruna Sakura. Your teacher will be Hatake Kakashi."

Beside her Naruto let out a peal of delighted laughter. He nudged Sakura in her ribs with his elbow and slung an arm around Sasuke, who leaned away with a pinched look on his face. "We're a team," Naruto said, "Can you believe it?"

She almost couldn't. As Naruto chattered on, happiness in every syllable, Sakura dug her nails into the flesh of her palms and stared at Iruka-sensei without hearing any of the words that came out of his mouth. She hadn't anticipated this. Had thought that Kurenai – the woman who had been training her for almost two years now – would be her new Jounin teacher.

Once the classroom began to empty, Naruto tugged at her sleeve, but Sakura waved him off.

"Go ahead without me," she said, "I have to talk to Iruka-sensei for a minute."

She was glad when he left without a fuss, Sasuke spilling out into the hallway after him, and dropped the fake smile that she'd taken to plaster onto her face.

"Sensei," she began, walking up to the man who was gathering a stack of papers. Standing before him, his gaze came to lie upon her face and she found that her throat had closed up.

"Sakura," Iruka-sensei said kindly. "This must feel as a surprise for you."

"A bit." She couldn't keep the bitterness out of her tone. "I always thought it would be Kurenai-sensei, you see."

"I admit I did too," Iruka-sensei said, raking a hand through his hair. "She did put in a request for you, but I believe it was denied in favor for Hatake Kakashi."

"Why?" Sakura asked. "Is he a genjutsu expert too?"

"No," her teacher said softly, "no, not at all. I believe he was chosen for you because of other reasons." His gaze traveled towards the window, which showed partial view over the lake, where Sasuke and Naruto followed their group of classmates down the grass lawn.

The stab of anger in her chest was almost painful. She twisted the stiff fabric of her uniform between her fingers, and she couldn't quite keep the bitterness off her face.

"I don't understand," she said at last, when she felt she could speak without inflection. "Naruto is friends with almost all our classmates. Surely someone else would have fit as well."

Iruka-sensei's expression was apologetic and he placed a hand on her shoulder. It was probably meant to be comforting, but she wanted to shake it off, snap his wrist back. She wanted to destroy this classroom until all that remained were wood splinters and broken stone.

"The higher ups thought that you'd be the perfect addition to the team," he said, his voice slow, as if he was coaxing a fearful animal out of its hiding place. "They are not often wrong, and we must trust them on this decision as well. Don't you like having them as teammates?"

"It's not that," Sakura said quickly, even though there was a soft, niggling voice that commented that it would be harder to leave Konoha behind if her ties here grew even stronger. "But what can Hatake teach me, if not genjutsu? Sasuke and Naruto are both heavily focused on ninjutsu."

"Kakashi Hatake is a powerful shinobi," Iruka-sensei said. "A once in a generation genius. A smart man, if a little eccentric. You'll learn vital skills under him. Believe me, Sakura, it may seem unfair, but let me tell you one thing – Hatake never lets his teammates die."

She believed him. The idea that there was a jounin she could not learn anything from was absurd, and she was certain she remembered seeing his name on one of Ami's bingo book pages. But it did nothing to stifle the anger in her chest – this outcome was unforeseen and threw all her plans in jeopardy. And, she thought a bit sourly, Hatake was close to Naruto, if Naruto's stories were to be believed. Between their relationship and the presence of a son of the Uchiha head, she was bound to be the least interesting, and thus the most ignored.

"Now," Iruka-sensei said, startling her out of her thoughts, "The Hokage's speech will start soon. Let's make our way to the stage, shall we?"

He led her out onto the training field, where Sakura sought out her friends. She found Naruto and Sasuke at the front of the assembled group, both of whom gave her curious looks. She ignored them in favor of looking at the Hokage, who had just stepped upon the wooden stage.

The first thought that entered her head at the sight, was that danger lay like a woman's perfume over his skin. Golden eyes, set in a chiseled, almost androgynous face, and dark hair that swayed in the light breeze. He looked utterly at ease in front of the crowd, clad in expensive white robes, with a confidence that would be called cocky in any other man.

"Welcome." His silky tones washed over the crowd, and Sakura shuddered against her will.. "Today you shall step into the world as proper ninja, and take your place in the game of survival."

His sharp snake-like eyes roamed over the assembly, and flickered over her face. She fought the urge to step back, to hide away from that predatory gaze.

"Other men would have stood here and waxed meaningless platitudes about bravery and cunning and the Will of Fire. I will not." Lord Orochimaru's face twisted into what could have been called a charming smile. "The outside world will be a trial for many, and it will bend you, break you and build you up again. It will devour you, will test the limits of your body, your abilities and your mind."

He stepped forward and she found she couldn't tear her gaze away from him. "But," he said, popping the word, "you all are ready. The headband ensures you are. And at the times of difficulty, at the depths of your desolation, Konoha will be here. Your Village will be the family you've always wanted, the friend you've always needed. Because, tell me, for whom do you fight?"

"For the Village," they chanted. Sakura hated that her lips moved as well, on their own, like it was a second nature. Like a trained dog, she thought.

The Hokage laughed and the sound vibrated in her bones. "And Konoha will fight for you in return. Now, go celebrate!"

Just like that, the effect was broken. The crowd moved towards the front of the building, where the parents were waiting. Kushina and Minato were there, stepping forward to embrace their son, and Sasuke bid her goodbye to go search for his family. Sakura put her hands into her pockets, hoping she portrayed the image of someone utterly at ease, even when she was feeling so out of place in the midst of her classmates and their families.

"Congratulations." Minato stepped forward and clapped Sakura on her shoulder. "It's lovely to see you again," he said warmly, blinking blue eyes at her.

"Sakura's on my team!" Naruto piped up. "Sasuke too. Kakashi-nii is our sensei, Dad!"

"I know." A smile tugged at Minato's lips. "He told me. He was ever so nervous about it."

"Aawh," Naruto whined. "I wanted it to be a surprise."

"Congratulations," a new voice piped up. Sasuke's brother stepped up to him, his headband gleaming in the sunlight. He had one arm slung around Sasuke's shoulders, and their parents came up behind them, the very picture of domestic unity. "Sasuke here tells me you had the highest grade in chakra control, Sakura."

She blinked. Sasuke's face twisted in a way that told her that he'd done nothing of the sort, or at the very least didn't want it spelled out in the open.

"I suppose," she said slowly. "I haven't looked at the scoring yet."

"That doesn't speak of ambitions," the man behind Itachi said. Fugaku Uchiha stared her down, and she was suddenly reminded that this was the leader of one of Konoha's most prominent clans, as well as head of a police force. There was something sharp in his dark eyes, almost cold, and she instantly disliked him.

"Ambitions take many forms," she said vaguely, unwilling to admit that her ambition consisted mostly of getting far, far away from here.

"Which form does yours take?"

Mikoto lay a hand on his forearm, a gentle, but quelling look on her face. Fugaku's face softened, and he leaned back a little, as if to convince her that her answer was of no interest to him.

"As of right now," Sakura said, "I'd like to be a good teammate and gain some experience under Hatake-sensei. As for what the future brings – well, I guess nobody knows."

"Wise words," Kushina piped up, leaning around her husband to wink at Fugaku. "But you wouldn't know now, would you? Spontaneity is a foreign thing to you."

Fugaku visibly bristled. Minato pinched his nose, but didn't seem surprised, like this bickering was a common occurrence.

"Why, yes, Kushina," Sasuke's father replied, an icy tone to his voice, "You couldn't think ahead even if you wanted to, with those precious few brain cells of yours."

Kushina laughed, a glint to her eye. It seemed to Sakura that she was truly enjoying herself, riling Fugaku on. "Those precious few brain cells did their work last spar, didn't they? Remember that little trap – the one that had you dangling from a tree?"

"That was luck," Fugaku bit out, and he looked like he had a lot more to say on the topic, but in that moment Mikoto piped up. "Shall we go and celebrate? I think our children deserve that after such a trying day."

"Yes!" Naruto cheered, yanking Sasuke by his arm so that he stumbled forward. He gave Naruto a truly withering look, and looked as if he was contemplating setting the other boy on fire. His brother patted his shoulder.

"Ramen!" Kushina said, a smile spreading over her cheeks. "Race you." She dashed away, followed by her son, who let out an indignant cry and set off after her. Sasuke sighed and started to jog as well. He sent a raised eyebrow at Sakura, as if to ask are you coming?

She smiled at him, and together they scampered off after their third teammate.

-0

[Snakeskin]

-0

O-kay, I have a few things to say.

Firstly, thanks for reading this and for leaving those lovely reviews. They made me smile. I hope you all enjoy this chapter as well. It is a bit on the short side; I decided to remove one training scene with Kabuto, because it didn't really add anything and it's been months since my last update.

I apologize for any grammar mistakes and typos. I was rereading a bit from the last chapter and the typos just seemed to pop up everywhere. Sorry for that, I am just one wholly inept individual.

I also don't know why it took four (FOUR!) chapters to finally get to the graduation. I hope the pace was alright – not too fast, not too slow – and that it was enjoyable nonetheless.

Wishing you all the best!


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